Lucky Sharms
by ItWasYourTest
Summary: Akko still tries her best to get better at magic, but so far it's not going well. It feels like she has hit a brick wall, and it's taking it's toll on her. It seems like the universe is working against her and lady luck is never on her side. Feeling like her best isn't good enough, she decides to keep a totem-a good luck charm- to hopefully turn the tables. what else can she do?
1. Chapter 1

Another day, another several hours spent practicing her magic. Akko stood outside on the grassy fields of Luna Nova, hands on her knees and breathing heavily. She had been practicing magic ever since classes ended for the day and hasn't stopped since. Her clothes were slightly damp from sweat and the skin on her hands had small scratches and blisters from constantly waving her wand around when casting spells.

The rest of her body wasn't faring any better. If her appearance didn't already give away her exhaustion, then the aches and pains that wracked her body did. It was a wonder how she even got aches and pains just from spell casting, since the act didn't really require long, intense physical movements to pull off. Truly, it was a testament to just how hard and how long her practice sessions were. This was how the young witch had spent the last several days. On the bright side, if these practice sessions didn't improve her magic then the apparent physical exercise she was getting would improve her endurance and physical conditioning at least.

Her two friends, Lotte and Sucy who were also the two other members of red team sat leaning on a nearby tree. They had been helping her in any way they could, demonstrating the spell, casting it, giving her tips, and all around doing what they can to solve whatever problem was preventing her from casting spells successfully. They even checked her posture and offered to switch wands. None of their attempts worked and they soon gave up and just let Akko practice on her own. It was all mostly Lotte anyway, the kind witch was the one that offered to help the most. Sucy just sat nearby and suggested Akko never do magic, as if that solved the problem. The jerk.

The young witch took a few seconds to catch her breath before getting ready to cast another spell again. Maybe it will work this time. She had spent these last few weeks outside performing spells until she mastered them.

So far she hasn't mastered even one. It was the same story over and over again. She would cast and the spell would either utterly fail, or fail halfway.

Akko pointed her wand and focused, chanting the words to start the spell. She could feel her magic beginning to flow within her.

So far so good.

Now she had to focus on letting the magic transfer to her wand and cast it at a steady pace. If she released it too fast and too suddenly, her magic would flow out all at once in the form of a small explosion. Too slowly and the spell wouldn't have enough power to sustain itself from continuing and just blatantly cease casting. It was painstaking work that didn't deserve the amount of effort she put in for the results it gave. Seriously, it was considered an average spell at best from what she heard from the teacher.

An average spell and it was already costing her _this_ much effort? That had to be an exaggeration. Or a joke.

Akko felt a huge build up of magic forming on her arm then to her hand. She was beginning to pour the large congregation of magic from her hand into her wand. As soon as it entered the wand it all flowed out at once against her will. Her heart leaped into her throat, her body seemingly knowing what the results would be before her brain could.

White filled her vision. She didn't hear anything. There _must_ have been an explosion. Because she was now lying on her back a good distance away from where she was standing originally. The aforementioned spot now tinted black and smoking.

One finger worked its way into her hear in an attempt to clear out the ringing in her ears. She saw her two friends running in her direction, faces filled with panic and urgency. Akko continued to lay there silently, just staring at them and attempting to fight off the ringing in her ears as her two friends looked over her checking for any injuries from the explosion she caused. She could see Lotte trying to speak to her- no doubt worried about her well-being- but all she could hear was a high pitched static sound in her head.

The brown haired witch continued to work her finger in her ear. "what?" she asked loudly, still hearing the flat static sound.

"-ou...-kay?" her hearing was coming back to her slowly, now instead of a flat ringing sound she was able to hear things again, albeit muffled. She quickly pieced together the words her glasses wearing friend asked her.

"I'm fine, my hearing is just a little wiry. Give me a sec"

The look of worry on Lotte's face disappeared and a look of relief took it's place. Sucy finished inspecting her body and they both helped her up, both of them draping each of her arms over their shoulders as they hoisted her up. They walked a couple of steps, careful not to move too quickly, treating her like glass all of a sudden and sat her against a tree.

Another failure. Another failure among hundreds, maybe even thousands of other failures. It was the same story, she just couldn't seem to control her magic as soon as it left her body. It would go out of control as it was transferred into the wand itself. She didn't know how all the other witches could do it so easily. It looked like they were able to do it without even thinking, like it was second hand nature. As easy as breathing.

Granted she was able to do it too to an extent, now that she practically mastered self-transformation magic. But that was an exception, she cast the spell onto _herself._ She transformed her own body, so it wasn't like the magic was going anywhere else when it went into her wand. Instead of a tool used to release magic, it was more like a bridge used to transfer magic from her body back into it. If that made any sense.

The brunette pushed herself off the tree despite Lotte's protests. It was just one explosion out of many, she wasn't a glass vase, the witch mentally rolled her eyes. She walked back to the spot she originally stood on and stared at the burnt patch of ground, the edges marred with black grass resembling cinder. Smoke slightly rising from the surface.

"It's okay, Akko. I'm sure you will get the hang of it someday. For now why don't we call it a day? You've been practicing hard for hours now and you're in pretty bad shape". Akko couldn't deny she wanted to go back as well. Her clothes felt wet against her skin and her muscles ached, she longed for a bath, to lay down on her bed and relax. At least that's what her body wanted to do, her mind wanted to stay for a little while and think about things.

About her failures.

"Yeah, we've been out here watching you practice for forever now. I want to go back in our room, some of us have things we'd rather do after this". Sucy as usual didn't hold back or sugarcoat her words. The blunt comment earned her a quick admonishment from the bespectacled witch.

A part of her wanted to remind them that they really didn't have to follow her out here when she was practicing. Nor did they have any obligation to stay out here, they could leave if they wanted. The other part quickly told her they probably did so out of consideration, and were still being considerate when they offered to go back together. Even if Sucy made it sound like she didn't care, that's just the kind of person she was. It also wasn't fair to take advantage of their concern, she already cost them several hours of their after-school time just watching her practice and while they might not be as tired as her, it didn't mean that watching someone practice and generally just wasting time sitting around wasn't a tiring endeavor in and of itself. They must have been so bored just staying out here.

Even so, her mind was already going a mile a minute in her little quandary. She _needs_ to stay a little longer and get this load off of her psyche. Now was as good a time as ever. But just because she wanted to stay doesn't mean they couldn't go.

She spun on her heels, facing her two friends. "You guys are right, we've been out here for awhile haven't we?" she grinned sheepishly and rubbed one hand on the back of her head.

"awhile" might have been a gross understatement, and the expression on both of their faces certainly showed it. One tried to hide it, the other blatantly let her expression do the talking. She felt a tug on her lips at the sight.

"still, someone needs to fix this mess. Why don't you two go ahead and I'll catch up?"

"You know it's just grass, right?"

"I know"

"and you know that the grass will find a way to heal itself without your help?"

"Doesn't mean I shouldn't try" with that Sucy shrugged and walked off, Lotte lingered before shooting her one last look.

"are you sure? Like Sucy said, you don't have to fix that"

"And like I told Sucy, it doesn't mean I shouldn't try. This scorch mark is my mess so I should at least clean it up. I need to learn to be more responsible, you and Diana made it clear" Lotte looked like she wanted to protest but the brunette cut her off "don't think I forgot about the way you scolded me when we got those ingredients, you may not have said it but I can read between the lines, you know". She grinned widely to show she harbored no hard feelings over the incident.

The bespectacled witch laughed nervously, the act basically confirming what they were both thinking. The brown haired witch pressed on. "So you go on ahead, I'll fix this up. You must have been tired just watching me mess up over and over again right? don't worry, I'll be back before you even notice I'm gone!

The expression on her friend's face still looked like she wanted to disagree, but she saw the pure determination in the bubbly witch's eyes and saw no room for argument. With a sigh, she reluctantly settled with a few parting words and a wave before walking briskly to try and catch up with Sucy.

As soon as both of her companions disappeared from view, she slumped her shoulders and sighed audibly.

'and thus concludes another spectacular session' she narrated dramatically as she thought about the events that transpired in the last few hours. From the start of her training session, the ending and all the struggles, flops, and misfires that happened in between. Hours of work and very little improvement, but a lot of stumbles. A lot of them. It seemed to be the only thing she continues to get an abundance of.

'Why couldn't it be the other way? Why not lots of improvements and very little stumbles?'. She wished it could be that easy. As if switching the formula around would be enough to solve her current problem. She released a breath as well as the child-like question along with it.

It has been several weeks since the missile crisis and Akko has not made any relative progress in her magical endeavor. Days and days spent trying, practicing, struggling and all around busting her butt off trying to make even the slightest improvement. She knows that she wasn't the most talented witch but _come on._ You'd think that after several days of continuous practice that there would be some result.

Seriously. it's like the laws of physics or something.

What was it again? For every action there's a reaction? If that was the case where was her reaction? Where was the fruits of her many days of labor? Constantly practicing for days on end not even a slightest margin of improvement?

Akko was cursed. She _had_ to be. What else could explain the blatant refusal of her magical powers improving? She was cursed and apparently it was a strong one, a curse strong enough to break even the laws of physics itself.

The brown haired witch paused for three seconds after uttering such a thought. Letting it echo in her head before realizing how ridiculous it sounded. 'I'm comparing the laws of physics with magic'.

Magic.

and physics.

Magic, of all things. The very anti-thesis of science. And she was currently applying the two together in order to explain her failures. She was going insane, becoming crazy from all the failed attempts to get better at magic. Clearly doing the same thing over and over with no indication of change was taking it's toll on her brain and driving her into a full unadulterated descent into madness. Didn't Einstein once say the definition of insanity was doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting something different to happen? Yep, maybe the small possibility of insanity might not have been as small as she first thought. When the day comes that she finally reaches her goal, she might need to go see a psychiatrist. She would obviously need it if things continued to stay like this for the next few years in Luna Nova.

Akko plopped herself down and laid on the grass, arms spread wide. Her body seemingly groaning in relief as the aches and pains temporarily drifted away. A breeze softly blowing through, slightly ruffling her hair. Letting the serenity of the day calm her addled mind, she stared at the clouds above. "I wonder if this is what Diana felt back when she lost her magic".

Akko let the scene play in her head, of a little small Diana out in the field furiously practicing her magic. Her cute little face scrunched up as she focused on getting whatever spell to work.

The tired witch let her imagination stray further from reality and imagined little Diana now rocking back and forth, hands clutching her legs, knees pressed to her chest, eyes wide and staring blankly into space as she catatonically muttered "Please work, please work" over and over again.

Akko shook her head, dispelling the line of thought and laughed to herself. She didn't know where the scene came from but she laughed at it nonetheless. The scene was so outlandish, so ridiculous, and just plain wrong when compared with the Diana she knew.

It was just so not her. Diana Cavendish-star of Luna Nova-young prodigy that can do anything who always wore a calm and collected expression, going crazy due to her ineptitude. She could already imagine Diana raising a very sarcastic eyebrow if she found out the scene Akko was thinking. Hhmm, maybe she could draw the scene in her head, make it come to life and show it to Diana just to spite the perfect witch. That would show her.

Anyways. Diana has always been a tough nut to crack ever since they first met. Diana embodied the word discipline itself, having full control over her emotions at all times. It was hard getting much of a reaction out of the young prodigy. Throughout the time the two spent together, the only reaction she ever got out of the blonde witch were various degrees of scorn and disappointment. Sure there must have been other emotions she hadn't mentioned, such as the very tsundere-like behavior the young heiress portrayed during their broom ride back from Diana's mansion, but scorn and disappointment were the most prominent. Yes, Diana was good at reigning in her emotions, completely opposite of Akko who frequently wore her feelings on her sleeve.

It was the first time the brown haired witch thought this deeply about the subject so it dawned on her just how much of a polar opposites the two of them were to each other. Diana was a talented witch, Akko was struggling just with average level spells. Diana came from a famous line of a noble witch family. Akko was the _only_ witch in her family line. Diana excelled in her studies, Akko once got a grade just for getting on a broom. Even their eye color, Diana had blue eyes while Akko had red. Diana was seen as the lead student of Luna Nova, the role model the others should take after, while Akko was the lead example of how _not_ to be a student or a witch. Sometimes she wondered how she was able to make friends with the green team, heck the fact that she made friends at all with Lotte and Sucy was a wonder in and of itself considering her scuppered reputation of being the laughing stock just from the first day of school. The red eyed witch certainly went through many struggles to slowly improvement herself into the witch she was now as well as lucky to have such great friends that who would support her from thick and thin.

It was this line of thought that she found yet another difference between her and Diana. Diana easily breezed through her time in Luna Nova while Akko had to scrape from the bottom of the barrel, fight tooth and nail, even risked expulsion and all around embodying the meaning of the words "hard work" just to get where she was.

All these glaring differences that she never thought about before but were now as unmistakable and hard to ignore as the light of a lamp being shined in your face.

Diana was a capable witch, and being her polar opposite, what did that make Akko? Would she be stuck forever as the incompetent witch that barely knows how to levitate on a broom or cast mediocre spells? Judging from the progress-or lack of it- of her persistent practicing sessions, she wasn't sure anymore. Many other girls in Luna Nova might call her stupid, or an idiot, or dense but that didn't mean she can't put two and two together.

Akko felt her spirit wane a little. She swiftly crushed the negative emotions under the heels of her figurative boot.

Her mind thought back on past memories, of the instances of her fellow witches and classmates after she was embarrassed by Hannah and Barbarah for being a flightless witch. Her reputation had taken a big hit there. Recalling the way they would stare and whisper among each other when Akko and her team would enter a room. It was hard not to notice, honestly, were they even trying to be discreet? At the time she shrugged off the little snickers and gestures as typical reactions to someone making a spectacle of themselves, but now she begins to piece together the kind of words they must have shared between each other when out of earshot. After the festival and the missile crisis the scorn vanished and gave way to a look of newfound respect. Though she begins to wonder how long that would last after several weeks of her not making any progress on her abilities. Consistently falling behind the class and struggling once again.

How much longer would it be before the judgmental looks came back? Hopefully never. She didn't let them bother her, but life would still be easier not needing to deal with them at all. It would be easier for more than one reason most likely, reasons that she hasn't figured out yet. Hasn't had the time or opportunity to sit still and figure out.

For all she knew they might have started already. It could just be her imagination playing tricks on her but she thought she saw the faint glimmer of mischief in her classmate's eyes during her last few classes. The faint spark of amusement that said they found entertainment at her shortcomings. It was a look she could easily recognize after seeing it sent her way so much. Was it bad that she was starting to familiarize herself with such looks? Probably, but she honestly can't find it in her to be surprised anymore. Disappointed maybe, but not surprised.

Akko never understood why they were keen on putting her down when she was already so low. If someone was down, doesn't it make more sense to help them or cheer them up, just like what she did with the yeti?

So why? The small witch didn't know. She didn't know, three words that summarized her experience in the classes of Luna Nova. Three words that's costing her so much.

'that's one of the witches that prevented the missile crisis?'

'what a joke'

'surely she just went along on the ride and let Diana do most of the work if this is all she's capable of'

'hanging on to Diana's coat tails and enjoying the credit, despicable'

Her treacherous mind unnecessarily filled in the blanks of her thoughts. Making her think words that she assumed must have been swimming inside her classmate's heads.

"well, whatever" the little witch spoke to nobody in particular. "I'll just have to prove them wrong, prove all of them wrong!" she put her hands on the back of her head and looked to the side. "I'll make them eat their words, make them eat and then ask them what regret tastes like!"

Akko stared up at the sky once more, the sun slowly disappearing into the horizon. She stared at the gray clouds above, golden yellow light washing over her face. Red eyes closed softly as a gust of wind passed by, ruffling her hair and sending a few strands on her face.

she'll show them. She _will_ become a great witch like Shiny Chariot, and like her idol, she will use her magic to make others smile. Her dream will come true, she'll make sure of it. Any other outcome won't be accepted. It was practically her destiny! Professor Ursula said so, Lotte and Sucy expect her to, heck even Diana admits the little witch is already on the right path! And it was Diana who said that, she was never wrong.

Akko chose to ignore the loud voice in her head screaming how hypocritical she sounded. she's well aware how wilfully doubtful she was of the blonde witch's abilities but for now maybe she'll make a small exception. Heh, it totally wasn't because she liked what she heard or anything. She was just..returning the favor that's all. Diana said she believes in the clumsy witch, well if that was the case then this clumsy witch will gladly return the faith and trust.

Yep, that's the only reason. that's her story and she's sticking to it!

Thinking about Diana, Akko was reminded just how far she was from her goal. It was time to start believing in the blonde witch, which means it was also time to face reality as well. Compared to Diana, Akko was a peasant.

Literally.

She was a literal peasant and Diana was a noble.

The peasant witch was further from her goal than she was to Saturn. Her earlier assessment between their characteristics made it blatantly clear. If the young peasant ever hoped to shine as bright as her idol then she must at least stop living in the shadows of her self-proclaimed rival.

And that thought felt like an anvil being dropped unceremoniously on her poor, straw-lifting, peasant back.

Most of all because she didn't want to have a face carved from stone. That was what Diana's face looked like roughly ninety percent of the time. If being as great as Diana meant she had to start looking and acting like the resident Ice Queen then fate had another thing coming.

The other reason was how utterly impossible it sounded. Measure up to Diana? Diana was at the top of the whole school, was able to master every spell the brunette witch could think of and possibly even more spells that the little witch doesn't even know exists yet. Sure Akko found the seven words but her magical aptitude was miles upon miles below even the slowest of all witches when her life didn't depend on it.

She can't depend on short powerful bursts of magic that only emerges when inspiration hits. Those moments were like shooting stars. It's bright, beautiful, and so very brief. She can't rely on those "shooting star" moments forever, not when she can't bring out the power at her back and call.

As much as she hated to do it, she must let go of those moments. She hated letting it go because it was the only thing she had that Diana didn't already beat her in. Without those moments, what even was she?

A washed up incompetent witch.

A washed up incompetent witch with no talent to speak of, who can't even hope to burn half as bright as Diana. Professor Ursula once said that everyone had their own strengths. Akko was quick to ask what _her own_ talent was.

She still didn't get an answer, the professor still didn't _have_ an answer. After all, you couldn't give an answer to a question you don't know the answer to without lying first. And professor Ursula rarely lied, least of all to Akko. The fact that the professor changed the subject proved it. Because her idol either had to tell the painful truth or not say it at all. So she chose the latter, the professor chose not to answer. To change the subject and spare Akko's feelings.

The little witch didn't know what to expect. Though, a big part of her knows what she _should_ have expected, but she was stubbornly clinging on to a small part of her that still had hope. Akko asked her professor what her own strength was, hoping, desperate to have even an inkling. An inkling of what, she wasn't sure. An inkling of her own powers, something that _she_ would be good at? Or perhaps she was desperate to hear even an inkling of support, a virtuous voice that reassures her that she wasn't a hopeless case. It could also be both, but the truth denied her either of those two.

A sigh escaped her as she pushed herself off the grass and sat up. Her eyes tiredly scanned numerous small cuts and blisters lining up her hand. A sign of how much effort she poured into bettering herself.

So much effort and so little progress to show for it.

And she expected herself to be on Diana's level. As a minimum. At the rate this was going, she was more likely to get Constanze to give a speech.

The young witch released one more sigh and stood up wearily. Her muscles protesting the movement and a sudden wave of exhaustion washing over her. Half lidded eyes stared off in the distance as the sun dipped completely in the horizon. She had a long way to go, a fact that she already knew but was once again reminded. Kept _being_ reminded of for the past few weeks. Nobody knew that fact better than her now.

'I'll keep working hard. I don't care if it takes me a thousand years, I will accomplish my goal. I can't stop trying even if it's the last thing I do'. That was all the brown haired witch could do for now. She found herself needing to repeat that same mantra to herself recently.

Turning around, the little witch trudged back in the direction of the school. The sun was set, it was getting dark, and the breeze that was once soothing now felt cold and rough. She was going to have some explaining to do about her late arrival to Lotte once she made it back to her dorm.

Her feet felt like weights attached to her legs as they trod through the grass. Her normally fiery red eyes seemed to lack it's usual vibrancy and were downcast, locked on the ground in front of her.

As she walked off, one last thought echoed inside her head. A call-back on her thoughts about the stark differences between her and a certain flawless witch.

'Diana was able to completely recover her magic after losing it'

Sleep didn't come easy that night and for once it wasn't because of the aches and pains that wracked her body.


	2. Chapter 2

Lotte was worried. Which wasn't really an abnormal mental state of affairs for the bespectacled witch anymore. Not since being put in the same team with Akko has taught her anything.

'Why has life become so much more hectic and troublesome ever since meeting you, Akko?'

The three witches were currently sneaking through the dark deserted halls of their school. The renowned leader taking point and scouting ahead for any possible witnesses or bystanders that could blow their cover. Seeing nothing nearby, she silently motioned for the other two to follow.

With an inaudible sigh the orange haired witch quickly skirted through the hall, careful to lay low and stick close to any walls to use as cover. She felt like a criminal, stalking in the hallways like some creep, murderer or serial killer. The fact that Akko had yet again convinced them to break the rules wasn't helping. They might as well have been fugitives running from the law. The law known as the school rules. The analogy was much more appropriate and fitting than she thought. And more fitting than she would have liked.

She just wanted a quiet and peaceful school life, to attend Luna Nova, graduate, acquire a license for magic tools and thus inherit her family's magic shop. She would do it all without a slightest hitch. That is, until an Akko shaped missile flew in and blew that idea to smithereens.

Ever since then it's been one broken rule after another. Getting in trouble, being punished for getting in trouble, and basically being lumped in with the troublemakers.

Never, in all of her wildest dreams did she ever imagine herself as one of the troublemakers in school. The delinquents and whatnot. Yet here she was, branded as a local problem child alongside Akko and Sucy. Akko for being rowdy and easily provoked and Sucy for..well..being herself. Truly her friends were the worst.

Why couldn't she make normal friends?

'How did I ever become friends with these two?' the short witch internally mused, hiding behind some stone pillars.

Her two friends she could understand, their personality traits making it easy to imagine them as problem children, but Lotte as well? What did she do to be labelled as one of them? Unlike her two friends, the shy witch actually respected the rules, knew the importance of keeping them and staying out of trouble. Completely unlike her companions, who would break any rule without a second thought as long as it benefited them.

Lotte recalled the time she willingly snubbed detention to attend a Night Fall event.

Okay. She didn't break the rules without a good _reason!_ And attending that seemingly once in a lifetime opportunity was the best reason of them all. She would do it all over again if she could. that's just how important it was. Not going would have been worse than not doing homework for the rest of the school year. It was completely different circumstances. There was no way she was like her two friends, breaking the rules for the smallest benefit.

No

No way.

Snapping herself out of her thoughts, the short girl was reminded of her current situation. Of her sneaking past curfew and stalking around to who knows where and for who knows what.

Their leader didn't really make it clear the rhyme or reason of what they were doing or how they were doing it. Only that it was "really important" and "we don't have another chance at this!". Really they, Lotte and Sucy, were just going along and trusting that Akko at least knew how to lead the party. because Lotte sure as heck knew nothing more about their position other than following Akko around and doing what their leader wanted them to do. The fact that she was breaking the rules for such an ambiguous reason wasn't doing any favors.

An explosive sigh burst out of her.

This wasn't how she imagined her time at Luna Nova to go. She expected to be an average student, she expected to not stand out, or not get in trouble often. She was quickly disabused of that notion. No plan survives first contact with Akko, it seems. That fact applied to just about anything the volatile girl came into contact with.

Not even the unmovable Diana was able to stop Akko from breaking into her life and completely changing the expected outcome of her own life decisions. The fiery witch just seemed to have a talent for breaking expectations, even if she wasn't aware of it herself. Now whether or not the outcome was exceptionally above the expectation or exceptionally below the expectation was another story. The point is, the expectation would be broken either way.

Her friend was really amazing sometimes.

...

But this. This was not one of those times.

Lotte strained her eyes as she struggled to see through the darkness. The three of them were on their stomachs and inching forwards, their only source of light being the faint glow of their wands. Akko had led them to a crawl space. A crawl space. And they were crawling through it. What is this, boot camp? Where did this even lead to? Where was Akko taking them? How did Akko even find this place and _why_ did she find it necessary to go through it?

Seriously, what goes on in her head sometimes?

Lotte cringed as her hair and elbows grazed through cobwebs, hoping and/or praying to any god out there that the webs were abandoned or empty. She was going to have to wash her clothes, her hair, herself, her _everything_ after this. This wasn't typical witch behavior. This wasn't typical witch, student, or girl behavior. In fact, visiting crawl spaces weren't _anyone's_ typical behavior unless you built houses or were an expert in foundation repair. Or a nasty bug.

Something lightly brushed against her bare leg, a particular feeling of multiple pointy legs running across her skin. The sensation sent a shiver into her very being, her leg kicked instinctively in an attempt to send whatever it was flying.

What other unholy insects could be lurking all around them in this dark, dingy, potentially infested space? Lotte stared ahead and seemed to find a new purpose as her movements became stiff and mechanical. Her eyes filled with determination not daring to look around her in fear of the horrors she might see. Her mind was blank, thinking of nothing but the road ahead in a desperate attempt to keep her wild imagination from scarring her mentally. The last thing she needed was developing another trauma in her seemingly growing list of traumas.

The bespectacled witch screamed internally as she felt the crawling sensation again, this time on her neck. A swift flick and the little offender went flying. Hopefully into space, or somewhere far far away from her. Crocodile tears rolled down from her eyes as she laughed hysterically in her mind. 'what is this torture? No more. Please get me out of here, I can't take this'. An idea popped into her head.

The carrot top witch sidled closer to their team's resident mushroom enthusiast. Maybe she could use Sucy as a shield or something. A small tinge of guilt formed in her gut at using her friend in such a selfish manner but right now her freaked out mind heavily outweighed her morals. Besides, Sucy doesn't even seem bothered about all of this, not if the other girl's bored expression or calm demeanor said anything.

Well if they were going to be harassed by insects, better her than Lotte. That was all she could say.

Her blue eyes traveled from Sucy's face to her back.

The blonde girl bit down what could have been the loudest, most terrified screech in human history.

'W-what in the world is _that_ thing?' Lotte stared in horror at what looked to be a giant cockroach perched on top of Sucy's back. Every hair on her body stood on end, her throat felt dry, and tingles went on and off sporadically like alarm bells throughout her body.

Surely that couldn't be a cockroach could it? It was much too large, this had to be an entire new species altogether. No, it doesn't matter whether or not it was a different species, it _looked_ like a cockroach, that was all that mattered.

Unknown species be damned.

Lotte continued to watch in paralyzed fear, afraid any sudden movement would draw it's attention towards her. And she sure as heck did notwant the horrid vermin to even _acknowledge_ her existence. it's body was large enough to encompass her entire face. Like some kind of alien from a horror science fiction movie. How had Sucy not felt such a massive thing sitting on her back? Surely the weight would have given it away. Maybe she had noticed and was just hiding it? She spared her friend another glance.

Sucy's face remained passive, though her eyes had glazed over. A distant stare that looked like a combination of defeat and acceptance, a look of resignation. At first Lotte thought she was bored but now Sucy looked resigned. As if she resigned herself to her fate. Maybe Sucy had noticed and is now too terrified to do anything but ignore the insect, hoping it would get off on it's own?

The poor girl must be utterly petrified.

"Argh, what the heck is this infernal itch?" Sucy reached an arm back and scratched a spot on her lower back. Her hand dangerously close to the insect.

Or maybe she was just imagining it all, it was hard to tell.

Unfortunately for the orange haired girl, the motion caused the insect to avoid Sucy's hand, which in turn caused it to whirl in her direction. Lotte's breath hitched. It's feelers or "antennas" gliding back and forth feeling for the closest object to crawl on which just happened to be her body moving alongside Sucy's since she decided it was a good idea to saddle herself next to her in an attempt to use her friend as a shield.

'Oh look, karma does exist'

The alien looking insect stuck it's head further in her direction experimentally. Lotte twitched.

Yeah, no. that was not happening. Lotte worked her arms and legs harder, frantically scrambling away from the now-contaminated Sucy and the hell-spawn on her back. The sudden movement startled the insect. One bespectacled eye caught a glimpse of it's wings opening, the insect rearing forwards about to take flight and rain hell on them all.

That was it. That was the last straw.

"Lotte?!" The orange haired witch barely heard Akko's question on top of her own screaming. Lotte didn't so much as crawl, but practically _flew_ passed Akko. She could see the glow of a faint light ahead, salvation! There was no time to feel relieved for long however, normally she would but all there was were intense feelings of desperation mixed with panic as a rush of adrenaline fueled her system. A small section of her brain, the one that contained morals and principles pushed a realization to the front of her mind.

She just left her two friends behind.

…

A small price to pay. The bigger, more afraid section of her brain that contained self-preservation reasoned. It was a small price to pay for her personal safety and well-being, as well as preserving her mental state. What was left of it at least. Anything to avoid dealing with _that._

To Lotte's mounting horror, the sound of furiously beating wings resounded and kept pace right behind her ears. She could _feel_ the vibrations and the rapid changes of air pressure behind her as insectoid wings beat against the air close to her head as if the air itself owed it money. Her skin crawled as the sensation fueled her fear and paranoia to new heights. She didn't dare look back as she abandoned her two friends to their fate.

A small part of her mind thought they deserved it. Deserved it for dragging her out here. For getting her involved in their antics.

Really, why was she doing this?

/-/

"Remind me again, _why_ exactly are we doing this?" Sucy asked the one question that's been swimming around in their heads, and maybe even Akko's despite this being her idea.

Sucy's lungs burned in abject misery as it worked overtime trying to support Sucy trying to speak and run at the same time. This leader of theirs needs to realize that they were training to become _witches_ , not athletes. Holy crap, it was too late in the night for this.

The incompetent witch had told them that she needed their help and that it included the usual rule-breaking. You'll forgive Sucy if that vague description wasn't enough. Poor Lotte looked like she just went through the dephs of hell on nothing more than that vague description to go on. The bookworm staring daggers at their leader, looking like she wanted to get the answers out telepathically.

The three of them were on the run. All traces of secrecy and confidentiality hurriedly thrown out as they sprinted. All that sneaking and crawling, and now apparently they were hauling ass through the dimly lit hallways of their school. The crawl space had apparently been a type of shortcut or passage that lead to the older parts of the school, an older, slightly abandoned sector that rarely saw use. How Akko had acquired such knowledge, she had no idea. Maybe she got some trade secrets from the faeries during her short time in the labor union or something, who knows.

"I told you, we need to get away from there. Normally we would still be sneaking around in this part but plans change, now we're skedaddling. Now get the lead out and _move it!_ " Akko said, not answering her question at all. As soon as the three of them emerged from the crawl space, Akko suddenly broke off into a sprint and hissed at them to start running as well.

"Yes, I am more than aware _what_ we're doing, I meant why." if Akko turned around to regard her she would have seen Sucy roll her eyes so hard it would make the girl's head spin off her shoulders, or so the gray witch hoped.

"After Lotte decided to scream at the top of her lungs what do you think would happen?" said girl laughed weakly at that "If we had stayed we would basically be letting ourselves get caught. I am _not_ sticking around for that." ah, an actual deeper explanation, what a new experience.

"That's why we are creating as much distance as possible between us and the scene that we made. And the faster we do it the better. Hopefully we'll be long gone by the time the first person gets there. It may be in the later hours of the night, it may be past curfew, but that doesn't mean no one is still awake doing who knows what."

"You seem to suddenly know what you're doing, when did you become so reliable all of a sudden?" Sucy couldn't resist.

"And what is _that_ supposed to mean?" Sucy relished the dirty look sent her way. Ah, Akko was just the best sometimes. A third and final voice joined in.

"I kind of have to agree with Sucy, you actually sound like you know what you're doing. It's so unlike you, it's kind of weirding me out." Sucy knew Lotte meant no offense but she felt like the two of them shared a spiritual high five at that moment.

"Not you too! Argh whatever, make a turn over here." Akko veered over to the side right into a black spot on the wall.

Well, Akko has clearly lost it. I guess it's as good a time as ever to consider euth-

Sucy's thoughts cut off as Akko disappeared into the darkness. No impact, no cry of pain, just...gone. Sucy and Lotte stopped dead in their tracks, using the moment to catch their breath as they stared at the abyss Akko jumped into.

The abyss stared back.

Sure, just jump into a black patch on the wall. That didn't look or sound crazy at all. She turned to her shy teammate "after you".

The orange haired girl shook her head furiously in response. "why don't you go first, isn't this kind of your thing?"

'kind of my thing?' just what the heck is she implying here? Sucy knew she wasn't the most orthodox person but a line had to be drawn somewhere. "Aren't you worried about what could be happening to Akko while she's in there? After all, you _did_ say you couldn't imagine her being gone." The long haired witch smirked evilly, her normally apathetic expression twisting into one full of mischief.

Mentioning Lotte's little breakdown was a low blow but all is fair in love and war. Besides, it was just the two of them, no one else was around to hear this. Not even Akko, who disappeared on her own accord and was probably gallivanting in wherever this.. _thing_ led to. The orange haired witch seemed to take it well however and gave as good as she got.

"But think of all the mushrooms that could be on the other side". The shorter witch slightly leaned forwards in her direction and spoke in a husky voice. "There might even be rare ones you can't easily get or new ones beyond your wildest dreams! Think about it"'

...

Beyond her wildest dreams? No. Sucy's eyes hardened in defiance. No matter how good it sounded, no matter how tempting the prospect was, it was all lies. Dirty, filthy, disgusting lies. A sneaky attempt to cajole her. Sucy stared at the little carrot top girl. Lotte's normally soft expression replaced with one full of confidence as a predatory grin adorned her face. A smile that said she had already won. Had Lotte always been this assertive? She had always been so shy and meek when they were first together. What changed? Maybe being around Akko and herself was starting to rub off on her. Was that a good thing? She couldn't give a definite answer. Lotte had another thing coming if she thought she was going to win that easily, she was a thousand years too early to think about beating her.

"What if this was a portal to another dimension?" Lotte raised one eyebrow, unimpressed at her weak attempt. "A dimension where Night Fall is real". _That_ got a reaction.

Lotte's eyes widened as a hand flew to her mouth stifling a gasp. Too little, too late. Sucy grinned like a shark. Heh, two can play at this game.

"H-hah! As if I'd believe that. I'm not a kid anymore you know." Lotte scoffed in an attempt to appear confident and failing hard at it.

"I didn't say you were. I'm just saying, this _is_ a magic school isn't it? A school where they teach magic. Magic, the thing that defies logic. Literally nothing is impossible". A low whine escaped the other girl's lips. The sound being translated into melodious music in her ears. Sucy's grin grew wider as Lotte's frame shook as she stared at the "portal". Her blue eyes wavered as she looked on in wonder, longing, no doubt thinking of all the possibilities. The girl's love for Night Fall was just too strong it seems.

She made sure to make a mental note about this for later. This could have potential.

Lotte reached a tentative hand out. The taste of victory was on the tip of her tongue. Lotte's hand drew nearer, almost there.

Akko's head peeked out and ruined everything. Her sudden arrival startling the bookworm and causing her to flinch away. Their leader looked at them both impatiently.

"what's taking you guys so long? Get in here!" she grabbed both of their hands and pulled, yanking them both into the black abyss.

/-/

Up is down. That was what Lotte's brain felt as her sense of balance seemed to disappear for a short second before her face hugged the floor. It felt like being upside down underwater.

"Argh, I hate coming here". Their esteemed leader put her feelings into words.

Aside from the obvious flare of pain from her fall, other parts of her body felt like they were trying to kill each other. Her stomach twisted and writhed, feeling as if someone had delivered a blow to her gut making it difficult to breathe. That, coupled with a severe headache that appeared so strongly and so suddenly that she almost blacked out on the spot.

It took all of what little remained of Lotte's strength and willpower to not vomit all over the floor. Her insides felt like outsides.

Lotte dry heaved as she squirmed on the ground, face grinding against the floor, her backside high in the air as the pain in her stomach throbbed and pulsated. She clutched her stomach and applied pressure to try and lessen the pain. She groaned and laid on her side, eyes blurry as she stared at the mass of color in the direction Akko's voice had come from.

Another wave of pain, another frantic desire to throw up all over the place. She swallowed hard and fought the tears threatening to spill over her eyes.

"what..was that?" she asked to the blob of color that she assumed was Akko.

"If you hate it so much, why bring us along to experience this hell?" what an _excellent_ question.

Lotte turned her head to check on the remaining member of their team. Sucy wasn't faring any better it seemed. The bitter girl laid flat on her back, arms spread wide. Her chest rising and falling as one eye glared evilly at Akko, who somehow remained on her feet and clearly wasn't suffering as horribly as they were.

Lotte wondered if she had any energy left to be angry at that. She doubted it, but she tried anyways. She tried to muster her strength, but then gave up with a pained groan as another wave of torment rolled over. She was at the pain's mercy, the pain could literally abuse her all night and she wouldn't be able to do anything about it. Was this her life now?

"You'll get used to it, trust me" Lotte didn't want to, to either of those. She didn't want to "get used to it" _or_ trust Akko ever again. Not anymore, not after feeling like willing her soul to temporarily leave her body just to escape feeling like roadkill. The orange haired witch wondered if she could convince herself this time, or if doing so would make it easier to deal with the pain.

"Oh and to answer your question, sucy, it's because misery loves company. And as a team, as _dear_ friends, we share all the ups and downs." oh no. Lotte grimaced knowing where this was going.

"that means if I'm happy, we're all happy. If you're excited, we're all excited. If one of us is sad, then we're all sad. If I had to suffer experiencing the most excruciating agony I've ever felt then that means so do you". The brown haired girl then had the gall to smile innocently at them. Lotte wanted to put her hand through it.

No. Look on the bright side, at least Akko cherished their friendship. The thought was enough to make her hold off her judgment and raw hatred. The thought that Akko felt so highly about their companionship dispelled any traces of her anger as she regarded Akko in a new light. A newer, more positive light.

Was it really so bad going through all of this if it was for the sake of a friend?

"Come on, lazy bums! Get up! I'm not getting any younger waiting for the two of you to suck it up!"

Yes, yes it was.

/-/

"So what is this place?"

"I'm not really sure myself. It's only the second time I've visited. I only remember it so well because the first visit wasn't something you could easily forget. Nothing like fear and adrenaline to make the memory stick."

"Why am I not surprised you found this place while you were in trouble?" The snarky comment earning the desired result as Akko twitched and zeroed in on the grinning mushroom specialist.

Lotte let the two descend into another argument as she looked around.

All three of them had regained their bearings and were now exploring their surroundings. Well herself and Sucy atleast, having never been here before they were naturally more curious about this new environment. Not that it was anything much to behold. It was a pretty bland room, kind of large and had walls of stone, so basically just like the rest of the school but only older looking. The large room had numerous doors and pathways connected to it, leading to who knows where. If Lotte had to find a word to describe it, it would be like a lounge or a lobby. The place in all buildings and structures where everyone has to pass through in order to go somewhere, evidenced by how how every single hallway and corridor was connected to it.

There _was_ one thing that caught her attention however, besides the lack of anything in the large room. It was possibly the only object or item in there. In the center of the room was a bonfire, Lotte wondered if that had always been there or if Akko had made it. What struck as odd however was the sword that was embedded on the ground right in the middle of the fire. How had that sword not melted already? This place was strange.

"We can explore this area all we want some other time" Their leader spoke, reminding them of their original goal, whatever that was. "All you need to know right now is this pathway here" Akko led them a few paces away into one of the corridors. The corridor led to a room where a tunnel ran perpendicular to the it. Some type of railroad track running along the tunnel and on the track was a single transport mechanism. It resembled a single train car, just one, so like a tram maybe?

"This baby right here takes you right under the Yonadem tower" Akko held an arm out presenting the mini metro looking room with the single train car sitting on the tracks.

"But isn't that place really restricted? Normal students aren't allowed to get in there unless a teacher is with them" The shy witch instantly had a bad feeling as she peered into the mouth of the tunnel, it ran too far for her eyes to see and saw nothing but a dark chasm.

Beside her Sucy stared off, eyes narrowed and sharp as if in deep thought. Her eyes widened slightly and looked at Akko.

"So that's your plan" What? She shot a questioning look at Sucy, who apparently figured something out. Great minds must really do think alike, the word "great" being used loosely.

"The Yonadem tower is restricted and for good reason, but that's a story for another time. It's a monumental tower that was build and used long before Luna Nova itself."

Lotte nodded her head to show she was following along. All of that she already knew, having read books about the history of magic and witches in general. The obscure history of the forbidden tower was included on that list. Sucy continued with her explanation.

"The tower was already abandoned and unused by the time Luna Nova was established. Left forgotten and decrepit but still remaining strong enough to keep standing. The first witches "adopted", you could say, the structure. At first they used it as a beacon that marked the borders of their school, having no use for an antiquated tower. But as time passed and more and more witches enrolled, they started using whatever extra space they owned to operate, including the tower. That's when it was discovered that magic worked slightly better when inside the tower. Particularly the items in the tower itself."

Sucy drew in a breath.

"Long story short, It's a restricted archaic tower filled with antique items that respond well with magic" Sucy finished. Akko nodded her head knowingly as if that answered everything. Which it didn't. So what if the items contained magical attributes? Was she going to use them in a ritual or something?

"But that still doesn't explain why we need to go there, is it for practice? The items?" Lotte let her perplexity be known.

"The last one. Or maybe a bit of both depending on how you look at it" Akko said, answering her question but not elaborating. Lotte felt a vein throb, this girl.

"and _why_ would you need an item from there?" Lotte addressed the crux of her confusion. Both of them sent her pitying looks.

"What?"

"I thought it would be pretty obvious, you really are such a good innocent girl, Lotte" Akko managed to pull off the look of sadness and surprise. Okay, where had that bizarre comment come from? She turned to the other member of their team.

"Use your head a little, and I thought Akko was supposed to be the dumb one" Well sorry if Lotte didn't have the same train of thought as her two teammates. It probably had something to do with rule-breaking, or cheating or something. It had to be, criminal minds think alike, and she didn't have one unlike the other two.

Sucy decided to spare her the trouble.

"The upcoming exam is manipulating objects right? This girl" Sucy pointed an accusing finger at Akko, who eyed the finger warily. "Is probably planning on taking one of those magically enhanced items and use it to replace the one used for testing-!" Akko pushed her hand into Sucy's face.

"Nothing that nefarious!" The accused girl said, pushing Sucy to the side. "She is just being cynical like always. All I want to do is use those items, practice a little with them, try to get the feel of the spell so I can hopefully get used to it enough to let me pass..so you can stop with the face" Akko shot her an unamused look.

Lotte hadn't even been aware she was wearing a disappointed expression. She quickly wiped it off her face.

All three of them hopped on board the tram car, Akko fiddled with the controls, again somehow knowing what she was doing. Where did she learn all this information? Though it also wouldn't surprise her if she asked Akko how she knew all this and learned that she was just randomly pressing buttons. The brunette witch pressed one final switch and the tram moved accordingly into the darkness of the tunnel, The light from the tram guiding the way and illuminating their immediate surroundings.

"I'm glad that you're not planning on cheating, Akko" she put a hand on her chest and smiled. "You've been working so hard these past few weeks, it would be sad to see you give up and just cheat your way through" She really has been working hard, much harder than she had in the previous times before. This was one of those moments where Akko was truly amazing.

Said girl met Lotte's gaze. Akko smiled a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes before turning around, hiding her face from view. "hah, I have been working hard haven't I? I should get a medal haha.." Akko trailed off, dropping the subject.

The act itself wasn't unusual, but what caught her attention was her eyes. The brown haired girl's eyes were soft when they met with her own. They stared at her meaningfully. It was the look that said it had more to tell. A look that hid a story behind it. A tired gaze of someone fighting an ongoing struggle.

She didn't like that look.

She had seen it enough times from her own parents when she was growing up. Of the times her dad was hunched over a desk or table as he paid the bills or her mother sinking into the sofa after a hard day's work, her aging body slowly falling behind the busy work schedule. They would both just smile at her though, or indulge her questions and comments. Brushing off their obvious stress and exhaustion to distract her. They would do it all for her sake. So that she didn't have to share in the burden or experience the same hardship.

This..didn't feel much different.

Akko's smile overlapped with her parent's own. The mental image causing the same feelings of helplessness and uselessness as before when she couldn't do anything. Purposefully left in the dark so she wouldn't have to _feel_ like she had to do anything. Or so her parents stupidly thought. She loved her parents, she really did, but they could be so..so frustrating at times. That wasn't how it worked, just because the young girl was kept ignorant of the problems doesn't mean she could just carry on happily as everyone else endured. She couldn't just sit idly by, watching everyone around her be bogged down and not feel anything. Because contrary to what her parent's apparently thought, watching the people she care for being miserable made her miserable as well.

Wasn't that common sense? Wasn't it obvious that she wouldn't like to see the people she loved being sad? The fact that they had done it for her or for her happiness was like a slap to the face.

It stung.

Why did everyone insist on distracting her, keeping her at a certain distance so she wouldn't have to be close enough to take part in their struggle as if doing so would solve the problem? Was it to watch over her? Did they feel so responsible for her that they decided to carry one hundred percent of the burden by themselves and leaving her out of it?

If it was, she hated it. Doing that wouldn't make her feel better, it would never make her feel better. She would much rather be doing something to alleviate some of their pressure instead of being left out and doing absolutely doing nothing to help. The latter made her feel greedy and selfish, like a spoiled child that would take and take without so much as a whisper of thanks. She detested feeling like that.

The fact that she was starting to feel the same with Akko didn't improve her mood. Was Akko walking in the footsteps of her parents? Lotte stared ahead at their leader's back, inspecting, as if looking for the answer written on it. Akko was staring ahead, her back turned to them leaving her face as well as the rest of her front from view. Lotte broke off her stare, giving up when she realized she wouldn't get any answers.

Was Akko acting like Lotte's parents? The orange haired witch didn't think so, they've always done everything together. Aside from Akko's after school jaunts outside when she practiced her magic, she doubted that was the reason. What problems could she possibly get from practicing all by herself? She and Sucy would even go outside with her sometimes to help but even then Lotte didn't find anything out of the ordinary.

There's a possibility that this all might be in her head, but an image of Akko's eyes flashed in her mind. Lotte couldn't shake the look she saw in those eyes, she was absolutely sure there was something there. It was unmistakable. After all, it was an expression she could easily distinguish after seeing it while growing up. The shy witch had grown to hate that expression. It brought with it so much bad memories and grief.

Seeing it on Akko didn't bode well. Did Akko also feel responsible for the two of them? The idea wasn't impossible. While Sucy might be dumbstruck at the prospect of Akko being responsible, Lotte wouldn't think it strange. People change, she knew that. It just takes a certain event to happen to _make_ people change, for better or for worse. In Akko's case the event was probably her being delegated as the "impromptu" leader of their little triumvirate. No doubt being thrust in the position of leader was causing her to feel like she had to be at the forefront of their troubles. To be the vanguard while watching over the other two members.

Akko herself might not have realized it, but her subconscious was probably already working on shaping her to be what a good leader should. To have all the good traits of a strong person, a great leader, but it also brought some of the bad consequences of being in an elevated position along with it. Bad traits like the ones her parents showed, of taking too much of their burden on their own and not sharing it with others. Akko was withholding things from them just like Lotte's parents withheld their problems from her. Lotte knew it, felt it in her bones. She was certain.

The thought made the short witch's eyes harden slightly. A small stab of irritation and anger as she realized how hypocritical Akko was being.

'And as a team, as _dear_ friends, we share all the ups and downs'

Lotte's mind recalled her leader's previous words. Whatever happened to that, Akko? What happened to sharing our ups and downs? It was terribly two-faced of her to say such a thing while turning around and doing something contrary to it. Probably has _been_ doing the contrary for some time even before today, just how long has Akko been like this?

'I thought you said we would share everything together, _including_ the bad parts. So why does it feel like you won't share yours?' The short witch struggled to think of an answer, a justification, none came up.

Akko might have said those wise words jokingly but the orange haired girl still found great merit and value in them. The kind witch spared their leader another look. Akko remained standing in front of them, her back turned to them as she faced determinedly forwards. Ready to be the first to face whatever situation that befalls them.

As the tram pushed on ahead into the dark chasm, she was no closer to calming her whirling thoughts. Lotte was worried, which wasn't unusual for the kind girl. This time however, she was worried about more than just the fear of detention.

Note:

 **Sorry if this took so long to update but...yeah. I've been busy with school but I'm also not a writer.**

 **All the writing I've done so far have been essays and analysis papers. I can safely say those papers are much, much easier to write than stories. Dear goodness. At least with those I can just bullshit my way and not having to worry whether or not it sounds good, just as long as it answers the question and that it supports my answer.**

 **Those essays are formulaic like that, but this..is different. There's so many instances where I have to make sure that the sentences blend together and doesn't sound weird or clunky, there's also so many ways for me to write a sentence that basically says the same thing. I literally don't know where to start during those times. It's a nightmare.**

 **When I even considered writing I thought my biggest problem would be making an actual plot, but no, making or thinking up a plot doesn't require even half of the amount of effort required to actually writing the events/thought processes that happen in the story itself. At least that's the case for me. Writing is much harder than I thought it was, I already thought it was pretty hard but the actual reality was like twice as hard as I thought it would be.**

 **I spent the first week after the first chapter was submitted thinking where to go from there, I already had a plot in mind but the original plot had very minimal Diana in it. So minimal in fact that you could say that she didn't really need that tag, meaning her role wasn't that needed or impactful. So I had to scrap that idea and think of a new plot, so I brainstormed and thought of another plot and that took like three days? But then the second plot got too complicated and started feeling like beyond the scope of my writing capabilities. So I had to scrap that idea too.**

 **I've thought of a different plot, one where Diana's role has been enlarged. She will actually play a role this time. Lotte and Sucy's roles might have also increased I'm not sure though since it was basically the same as the ones in the first plot but just tweaked a little. The original plotline was centered _heavily_ around Akko and her experiences. To the point where 95% of the story would revolve around her and only her, making anyone else basically just side-characters. That was the reason why I had to scrap it, because Diana's role was too little and it would be hard to fit a romance in such a plot.**

 **Also, the title is not a typo. It's actually a user name I saw when playing a video game and thought it was pretty funny.**


	3. Chapter 3

Red eyes blinked open tiredly, it was early in the morning, Akko was on her bed and feeling like she just wrestled a freaking bear while she was asleep. She felt a strange pressure on the back of her eyes which may or may not be linked with the nagging light headache she was currently having. Clearly her body's way of punishing her for the lack of adequate sleep.

There wasn't enough hours in a day to have an actual restful sleep nowadays. Twenty four hours was not enough.

Akko squinted her eyes, a blurry image of Shiny Chariot's face from a poster she had hung above greeted her weary eyes first thing in the morning. The sight seemingly pouring small doses of energy into her, helping her combat the morning fatigue. Shiny Chariot always had that effect on her, it seemed. Just gazing at her face was enough to fill her with inspiration and energy. That was just how amazing her idol was, even in poster form she was able to inspire confidence and happiness into people's hearts and minds. Shiny chariot truly was a top tier waifu, or so the boys back then would say.

Akko continued to daydream about her idol as she let the warm feelings suffuse inside her. Before remembering that Shiny Chariot was also Professor Ursula, instantly making things awkward. The warm feeling from before ceased to exist, leaving her body cold and miserable. Defenseless against the chill of the morning. She could already feel her energy being drained as the urge to close her eyes and go back to sleep manifested itself. Thinking about Shiny Chariot no longer helped. Every time she tried, an image of the professor would pop up instead, further increasing the awkwardness.

She was just thinking about how much of a wife material shiny chariot was after all. All those thoughts would apply to Professor Ursula as well, which brought with it terrifying and intriguing images. Thinking about marrying your teacher was definitely _not_ normal. It was immoral, it was wrong, and goddamnit why can't she stop thinking about it?

She could _feel_ herself getting excited about such a forbidden relationship, much to her horror and frustration. Stupid teenage hormones, making her think unnecessary things. Unnecessary yet _oh_ so alluring things.

'Stop it, brain' she mentally slapped the apparently horny part of her mind as if it were a misbehaving pet.

She still couldn't believe that professor Ursula was Shiny Chariot all this time. To think the person she had admired so much was literally in the same building she resided for the past few months, it was unbelievable to say the least. It was just her typical bad luck that life set her up to search for someone that was right under her nose. Either that or it was a cruel twist of fate. Whichever one it was made little difference to her, it was the same culprit wearing a different mask. She had lost so much time on an endeavor that could have been so easily solved had she just paid attention to the details.

No, that was silly. No amount of hard thinking or deductive reasoning could have ever let her guess that professor Ursula and Shiny Chariot were one and the same. Even Diana had to actually do some degree of research on the subject before realizing the truth and Akko didn't have a reason to even be suspicious of professor Ursula like Diana did. So the chances of her figuring it out on her own was pretty much nonexistent. Zilch, nothing, less than zero.

Could anyone really blame her though? Professor Ursula and Shiny Chariot looked _nothing_ alike. It was amazing how much ten years could change a girl. The brunette wondered how it would look if professor Ursula dropped the disguise and tried to be Shiny Chariot again. wouldn't that be a sight to see? She didn't even want to imagine how it would look if professor Ursula wore the bold outfit Shiny Chariot did.

And now she was thinking about it. Damn it, brain.

With a deep breath, Akko sat up on her bed as she stretched the last vestiges of sleep from her system. A physical attempt to detach her mind from the subject. Before her mind could wander further into darker waters. A darker, deeper, more dangerous, tantalizing waters. She obviously had to get up now, her mind required the distraction. The last thing she needed now was to lay back down and be alone with her idle thoughts.

Getting up, the little witch checked on her two teammates. Sucy looked no worse for wear, the little potions expert was probably no stranger to staying up late. Staying up late doing what, she didn't know and maybe that was for the best. Sucy had a bad tendency to test out her creations on anyone and everyone after all, and she wasn't afraid to do it either. Even going so far as to let a cupid bee loose on a party full of aristocrats. For fun.

Akko often wondered if she had made friends with a raging psychopath. While she knows and trusts Sucy and has grown to not fear for her life (anymore), Sucy definitely held the qualities of a psychopath. Particularly the trait of severe apathy towards those she didn't personally know or care for. Akko pitied the fools that didn't befriend Sucy, because that meant they were fair game for Sucy's little experiments. Just like everyone in Andrew's party. Those poor souls. Though Akko was still being routinely experimented on by Sucy despite being her friend, literally all her other friends were exempted from the cruel and unusual treatment except for Akko. Life was so unfair.

The brown haired witch took in Sucy's sleeping face. The girl's expression looking peaceful as she slept soundly. But Akko wouldn't be fooled. She knew better. Knew about the devil hiding underneath.

"You cause me so much unnecessary stress, you know that?" she asked the sleeping demon on the other side of the room. Sucy made no indication of acknowledging her question or giving an answer. Not that Akko expected any. She was asking just for the sake of it anyway. She had half a mind to make her way one there and pinch Sucy's cheeks. Violently. It would be so cathartic, god that sounded like the best stress reliever the Brunette could ask for. Her fingers twitched begging for the dream to become a reality, but she decided against it, Instead she turned to check on Lotte.

The other member of their team wasn't doing as good. Lotte was passed out under her blanket with an almost comatose look on her face. Akko could tell she was still deeply asleep from the deep and even breaths she made, a typical sign of somebody that was completely out of it. If Lotte was faking her slumber, then she was doing a good job of fooling her.

Out of the three of them in their little jaunt last night, Lotte probably suffered the worst. Which was understandable, the poor girl was out of her element last night. While Akko was used to being out and about, Sucy was accustomed to staying up late at night. Lotte was neither of those things. The bespectacled witch was not a girl of action like Akko and she wasn't a night owl like Sucy, even if her big glasses might make her eyes look as wide as an owl's. Yet despite it all, Lotte went along with them on their escapade. She might have been grumbling and complaining in her mind the entire time, but the thought still counts.

Akko felt her heart swell as she gazed at her sleeping friend's face. The faint traces of a smile adorning the brunette's expression. The red eyed witch stroked Lotte's bright orange hair. The action must have been soothing the already relaxed girl. For she leaned in on the stroking hand and moaned contentedly, the sight making Akko quietly giggle to herself.

Lotte truly was such a sweet and caring girl, she already knew that but time and time again Akko was reminded of how precious Lotte was. How precious both of them were, both Lotte and Sucy were milestones in this chapter of her life. Attending Luna Nova, learning about magic, and being on the same magic school Shiny Chariot enrolled in were fantastic opportunities in her life. One of her many dreams. But Lotte and Sucy were more than that, they became _better_ than that. It was safe to say that Akko wouldn't trade her two friends for anything in the world, not even a chance to live her dream as a famous magic entertainer. If she were ever to make her wish a reality, then it would be with Lotte and Sucy by her side. Anything less was not even worth considering. The three of them went through so much, fought and struggled side by side, and supported one another through each other's hardships.

Akko held both of her friends close to her heart, she wouldn't dare let anything happen to tear them away. Nothing ever could and nothing ever will. The little witch wouldn't let anything stand between them, she'll always love and hold them close. Even if they both end up hating her for whatever reason, even if either of the two end up not wanting to have anything to do with her. Akko's resolve was set in stone and was unmovable and unyielding as the highest mountain.

The brown haired girl stopped stroking her friend's hair and climbed back down the bunk bet and onto the floor of their dorm room. Dark blue light slipped in through the window, illuminating their room in a serene hue. The only noise were the even breaths of her two teammates. It was still early in the morning, even before dawn. Everything was calm, peaceful, still, and quiet. It was nice. It was a nice change of pace once in a while.

It was like the whole world was on standby and only she was there to experience it all. To have the time to slow down and think, or do whatever. To stop and smell the flowers, so to speak.

Experience tranquility

Akko didn't know if she ever felt this wondrous feeling before, but she relished in it. Reveled in the moment. This time frame, this phenomenon or whatever it was, wouldn't last forever. Dawn will come, daybreak will arrive, and the hustle and bustle of life will soon be upon her. But for now, she was going to enjoy this fleeting sensation. She didn't know how often she will get another chance of something like this, she never woke up this early before. The little witch remained still as she appreciated the moment while it lasted. _If only things could stay like this for a little while longer._

/-/

If anyone asked Akko what her favorite part of her routine at Luna Nova was, she wouldn't be able to give a definite answer. It could be a lot of things. It could be learning new and exciting spells, it could be hanging out with her friends during free time, it could be interacting with with her bonafide childhood idol Shiny Chariot. Who was also apparently her personal mentor, guardian, older relative she never had, Ursula Calistis. It was that, or being the protege of her most admired person ever, she had Shiny Chariot as her teacher. She could see and talk to her every day if she wanted, how cool is that? How many Shiny Chariot fans had such a privilege paved with gold?

'I'll tell you. Two, that's what'. Herself and Diana.

The two of them were the only Shiny Chariot fans the brunette knew about so far, she didn't know about any others. There might be a few hiding their admiration for fear of any scrutiny like Diana did.

'and is still doing' her mind quipped. Whatever. Even if there were more, her and Diana were the only fans that were aware of professor Ursula's hidden identity.

Yes, there were a lot of things that Akko could say were her "favorite" parts of her daily routine. None of which she could rank as being "The Best". However, there was one answer she could give to such a question with utmost certainty. Whatever it was, it was _not_ sitting in a class hearing a mind numbing lecture about numerology. Or the importance of numerology, or the methods of numerology, or practical applications of numerology and essential algorithms.

What did half of that even mean? If they spent as much energy explaining more simply instead of trying to sound confusing then maybe everyone would have realized this subject was utter nonsense years before this and she wouldn't have to suffer this weird, but effective, torture method right now.

Akko felt her eyes begin to droop. Her body and mind seemingly agreeing to shut itself off and ignore the useless hogwash around her. Deeming her class as nothing of importance or significance to her survival or future. Something that the little witch wholeheartedly understood, yet reluctantly disagreed with. Oh the staggering amount of reluctance. It was only Akko's spirit and sheer willpower that was keeping her awake at this point. Desperate for a distraction, she turned to regard her friends.

Sucy- normally apathetic and unflappable – looked like she transcended the physical realm and left behind a human effigy in her place. Her eyes had glazed over, expression hollow and blank as the notebook in front of her. The poor girl didn't even get a chance to write anything down. She had a look that said nobody was home, that her mind had gone to a better place. Her physical body was here, stock still like a statue, looking like she was paying attention. But her mind had probably traveled four continents by now.

Sucy was out, even more so than Akko and was Lotte blatantly reading Night Fall in the middle of class? The carrot top witch had hidden her novel inside the giant numerology textbook, one hand clutching a pen and moving about randomly on a blank notebook, pretending like she was jotting down notes. To anyone else it would really look like Lotte was reading and taking notes out of the textbook. How diligent of her, NOT. The brown haired witch just stared at her friend with an incredulous expression, not believing, or not wanting to believe what she was seeing.

'Well at least one of us is having fun' Much to her chagrin.

Sucy was out, Lotte was in her own little world, Jasminka was shoving food into her mouth as usual, Diana -ever so diligent- was taking actual notes and looking like she was going to find the cure for all types of cancer, her two little drones attempting to do the same thing to try and _become_ Diana like the drones they were. Make no mistake, there was no bad blood between Akko and Diana and her fan club she calls teammates anymore. But prior to this, before their little makeshift "truce" if you could even call it that, there _was_ bad blood between them and Akko had labeled both Hannah and Barbara as drones ever since. Well Amanda first coined the term, and Akko fell in love with it. After referring to the two of them as such for so long, it was going to be hard to stop.

Inter species prejudices will be hard to overcome, but she will try.

Akko's eyes continued to roam around the room, looking for something that might distract her even for a few seconds. It sounds useless and futile but every second spent being distracted was a second not spent being lulled to sleep. Red eyes landed on Constanze, the small witch was in no better shape than Akko it seemed. The little German looked like she was barely holding on to her consciousness, as if she might pass out any second. Her little stanbots frantically struggling to make her stay awake before the teacher noticed. One was holding the girl's eyes open, the second was under her chin and lifting her head up on it's back, and the last one standing on her slouched back trying to hoist her up to sitting position. All of this, the little German let happen. The silent witch looking like she had given up resisting a long time ago and no longer cared about the consequences, who no longer feared punishment as long as the suffering and pointless struggling would finally end. In an "if she dies, she dies" kind of way. How the teacher hadn't noticed the commotion, Akko had no idea. Then again, it was a surprise if the professor could even see past her own giant textbook.

Score another one for boredom, for it claimed another unfortunate victim. Boredom plus one, student body zero.

For all it was worth, Akko felt a strange sense of reassurance knowing everyone else was just as miserable as her right now. Sucy was in another plane of existence, Lotte was in her own little world, Constanze was out like a light, and Amanda...was nowhere to be seen. The American's seat was empty, but she did spot an open window close to it, the curtains waving and shifting with the wind outside. Akko wouldn't doubt for a second that Amanda escaped. The brash witch either jumped out the window and pulled out a broom she somehow snuck in and flew away, or climbed out the window and was now scaling the sides of the school building like a rock climber or a thief to try and get away. Or she became so bored and so desperate that she threw caution to the wind and leaped out, plummeting to her death.

All three possibilities were outrageous, but Akko wouldn't put it past Amanda to do all of those things. She could very well believe it considering the circumstances.

Red and green team, ladies and gentlemen. Two doing their own thing, two incapacitated, one on the verge of being incapacitated, and one missing in action. Truly, they were a sight to behold. The bad guys better watch out.

The brown haired girl snapped out of her musings at the sound of sniffling next to her. Lotte was listening to the lecture and actually writing things down on paper, bitter tears rolled down her cheeks as she worked her pen across a page. Akko wondered what changed, or why she was crying. Wasn't she just reading Night Fall? Akko looked at the book in question and everything clicked. Lotte's Night Fall book was laying closed to the side, the bookmark on the very last page. Akko looked at the clock. There was still an hour left of class.

For the first time in what felt like an eternity, Akko felt a warm feeling of glee begin to rise inside her. A smug grin worming itself on her face. She couldn't stop it, even if she tried her absolute hardest. A small part of her felt intimidated or concerned about how she seemed to find joy at a time like this, but it was ignored.

'Ha! You thought you could dive into your stories and leave us behind to deal with this torment. Better bring _two_ books next time!' Akko almost shouted out loud. The little witch had half a mind to let her thoughts be known but decided against it, she wasn't mean spirited enough for that and this was all in good fun. She wasn't going to maliciously make fun of Lotte about this. So instead, the brunette settled with letting her grin which grew wider and more shit eating with every passing second do most of the talking.

"That's it for this lesson, we covered all of the contents of these chapters for today and will continue the chapters next class" Akko audibly gasped at the news and cheered. Hallelujah!

"There is still an hour left of class however, so we're going to take a quiz on everything you just learned" Akko froze, Lotte froze, Sucy came back from her reverie only to freeze with everyone else. A loud bang resounded in the classroom as Constanze's stanbots became desperate and started banging her head against the desk.

"WHAT!" the whole class practically screeched

"-the fuck?!" a distant American voice could be heard coming from the open window

Ugh.

/-/

"By the way, Akko"

"hmm?"

"Why did you need to take us to that place last night anyways? I know it was to show us that area to reach the tower but you also could have went without us, and it wouldn't have made a difference. it's not like you need us in order for you to get there after all" Lotte asked as they walked in the halls of their school. Sucy made a nod of agreement, wondering the same thing.

Akko pondered for a moment. It made sense that they would be confused about it still. She told them where they were going, what they were doing, what she was planning to do, and why she was doing it. But it didn't really explain why she would need the two of them to be with her. Like Lotte said, Akko could have done that all by herself, the two really had no need to be with her.

Last night they didn't really even arrive at the tower itself. They arrived at the underground station that marked the end of their tram ride but they didn't go any further than that. They had run out of time and Akko decided they didn't have enough in order to explore the tower even if they got there. Exploring it would have taken them another hour or so, time which they no longer had much less for what Akko intended to use it for. Not unless they wanted to have less than three hours of sleep. It was enough though, at least they made some headway. They didn't go _in_ the tower but at least they knew the direction. But an answer to Lotte's question.

"It was because I wanted to show you guys how to get to the tower, I already told you what I'm going to use it for"

"To cheat" Sucy, like a snake, didn't fail to get a jab in

"Bite me"

"Oh I bet you'd enjoy that wouldn't you?" Sucy flashed her a sultry look.

"With your shark teeth? Sorry, I'm not a masochist"

"You could be, you just haven't been awakened to it yet" Why did that sound so ominous?

"I am _not_ a masochist, and no, you won't be awakening me to anything" that 'yet' at the end didn't put her at ease. Despite what it might look letting Sucy do whatever she wants with her body with all those experiments, she wasn't into being used at other people's leisure. Sucy was a special case because she would do it all without her consent anyways. She stopped resisting a long time ago, knowing full well it wasn't worth the effort to get into a heated argument for every time Sucy experimented on her.

Sucy just grinned at her. Oh god, she's got that scheming look in her eyes. No doubt Sucy was already plotting some weird and perverted experiments to turn her into a masochist somewhere in the future. She was going to have to keep an eye out. Wonderful. Akko should have just kept her mouth shut, now the idea was in both of their heads.

"Akko" Lotte brought them back to the topic. "Why did you need us to know how to get there?" Lotte's eyes shimmered with curiosity.

The brown haired girl scratched a finger on her cheek. "Well when you don't see me for awhile, I wouldn't want you guys to panic thinking I got in trouble or I ran away. I wanted to show you another place to look should I be missing while I'm at the tower. Or at least I wanted you to be aware of another place to look. I'm going to be going there frequently from now on after all."

"What!" Lotte's face flew up to her own.

"Eh? Something the matter, Lotte?" What was this reaction?

"What do you mean 'when you go missing'? It's not anything dangerous is it?" Lotte's eyes flashed with worry. Is that what she thought? Even Sucy sobered up.

"No, it's nothing like that. I'm just saying, it would save me a lot of trouble if you guys knew about the tower because if you can't find me anywhere else, then I'm probably over there. We don't need another search party looking for me" that seemed to appease Lotte, the worried girl visibly calmed down somewhat. Sucy however, wasn't so easily mollified, but remained silent while wearing a calculating expression.

"I-I see. Must be my paranoia then hehe" Lotte laughed weakly and smiled, looking slightly relieved. What she was worried about in the first place, Akko didn't know, but decided to drop the subject anyways. It must have been nerves or something.

Classes resumed for the day, but one thing bugged her to no end. She couldn't help but feel there was more to Lotte's worry. She really shouldn't have, the girl had a habit of fretting about almost everything. There was just something different about it this time, a sense of urgency that usually wasn't there all the other times. It was starting to put Akko on edge as well, which was ridiculous. And the fact that Sucy hasn't dropped that same calculating look on her face since that moment wasn't helping.

Something was up with both of them, she just didn't know what. Whatever it was, she'll trust that the two of them will say something to her should they need her help or feel concerned about something. There's nothing else she can do for them, she wasn't going to pry unless she saw full well they were bothered about something. For now, she had a restricted tower to visit.

Note:

 **I don't know if you guys have noticed but there is a lot of people from the rwby fandom visiting and contributing to this one. Me included. And there might be a few from the oregairu fandom too, but maybe I'm just imagining it.**

 **Here is the third chapter.** **It feels like I've been waxing narratives the entire time. It feels like I'm writing too much narratives, I don't know, what do you guys think?**

 **Sorry if it's lost much of it's "angst" element. I know some of you really liked the angst, namely che** **x** **ster and the amazing world of gumball fan** **2000** **. I liked writing the angst too but it's proving to be a challenge.** **I'll try and get some more angst in, but I'm having trouble trying to fit an appropriate moment. I can't just randomly insert angst, to me it has to be natural, just like everything else. I normally have to create a reason and the situation before I can write the angst. Without those** **2** **then it would seem pretty out of place and random, vastly removing the impact.** **Like I said, I'm new at this story writing thing.**

 **Y** **es** **Y** **oyo t bone, this is my first story and by extension making me a first time writer. I wasn't planning on writing a story at all, but the amount of stories in this fandom was just depressing. So depressing that I actually wrote a story to contribute** **lol.**

 **I'** **m** **actually slightly concerned about this chapter because I actually put a bunch of curse words** **i** **n it. I pointedly avoided using explicit curse words before this because I was worried it would be out of character. I mean, just looking at LWA it doesn't seem like the type of show to have any curse words in it. In my defense, they are sixteen. Or so the wiki says.**

 **Thanks for the words of encouragement Queen Sydon, I capitalized the first letters of the two words of the title if that helps. I don't really know. I don't really care much about the titles, I mostly pay attention to the summary. If the summary sounds interesting I would read it even if the title is 12345678 lol.**

 **Guest, that sure is a nice way to say that this story is going off-tangent lol. I admit, this story is slow paced. And hasn't gotten to the point yet, I'll get there, but I feel like I have to write everything leading up to that point. Right now this would be the building-up-the-setting phase. I want my characters to feel a certain way and the feelings I want them to have in my story aren't canon or have any reason to behave like I want so I have to create a scenario where they will react to it in the way I want while making it seem as natural as possible without it being forced. Which is what I'm doing right now.**

 **I've inserted a reference in this chapter, I doubt anyone will get it though. that's okay, the references are like an inside joke to me. Maybe in the future I'll make a note listing every single reference I've made in my chapters.**

 **Thanks for the reviews by the way.**


	4. Chapter 4

"We really shouldn't be here."

"There's a big difference between not being allowed to go somewhere and just being in unfamiliar territory. It sounds like you are worried about the second one. Last I checked, we're not breaking any rules by doing this. Sure this area is a little old and barely anyone ever goes here, but that still doesn't make it a reason."

"Exactly! This place is a ghost town, no one goes here. So why are we?"

"No, _I_ decided to go here. _You_ decided to follow me around for whatever reason. As for why I'm here, it's because we are late for dinner and everyone is probably already filling up the food lines. Waiting for the lines to shorten just so I can eat dinner takes too long, so I'm taking the scenic route. The longer it takes for me to get there, the shorter the lines will be by the time I arrive."

"You know, it takes the same amount of time for us to get our turn. If it takes five minutes for the line to dissipate, then it's still going to be five minutes before either of us get any food regardless of how long it takes for us to get there. We are just spending a portion of those minutes being here instead of over there."

"And that's time spent doing something instead of waiting around doing nothing. I hate doing that."

"I don't like this. This place creeps me out. It's empty and dimly lit, totally different from the rest of the school. Besides, haven't you heard the rumors about this place?"

"...what rumors?"

"There's been talk going around about how this area of the school is haunted. Apparently one of the students who could understand the faeries overheard them whispering among themselves about an incident that happened here recently."

"An...incident?"

"Yeah, one of the faeries that was working late reported hearing loud screaming and dark figures darting around in the darkness."

"eh?"

"The weird thing was, the hallway the figures were spotted in only had one entrance and leads to one exit. None of the other faeries working saw anyone going in or out of either, it was like they popped in and out of existence. There was no sign of any bodies either. No one knows where or who the screaming came from."

"That definitely does sound creepy, but it could be explained. It could have been some students fooling around. Teleportation shells, magic perhaps?"

"I would be inclined to believe that, but A, teleportation shells leave behind a hollow casing after being used. It would explain them being used to get into the hall but it wouldn't explain how they got out since using the shells to teleport would leave behind a shell. They checked the area and found nothing. And B, it could be magic but teleportation spells are much too difficult and complex, same with invisibility. They are beyond the scope of any of us students. Besides, casting high level spells like teleportation and invisibility emanates light for a brief instant at the moment they are cast. They would have been able to tell it was the work of magic just by seeing the distinct glow in the darkness."

"That really does seem strange. Sheesh, I'm starting to get creeped out too. Getting that feeling of being watched."

"You too? I've felt that ever since we got here, but it feels different now. It feels stronger, and closer. Close enough where it's within hearing distance, you know?"

"…"

"..."

"You might have a point after all. Maybe we shouldn't be here, now that you told me all of this I'm definitely feeling a kind of oppressing atmosphere in the air. Like something wants us to leave, especially from behind us, has the hallways here always been this dark? Geez it totally makes me realize just how poorly lit and ominous this place is glancing back at it now. Let's hurry, I don't want to spend more time here than we absolutely have to anymore."

"Yes, finally. Let's go, I can't handle this. Maybe if we hurry we can...-"

One red eye narrowed int eh darkness, ears sharp as the two students picked up their pace. Akko stood leaning against an alcove in the hallway, shoulders still as the voices trailed off in the distance, a single red eye peeked out of the corner.

The red eyed witch visibly relaxed as the voices from the two other students grew fainter and more distant. The tight grip on her wand loosened and fell to her side, there wasn't going to be a need for it. That was good. She had been prepared to perform self transformation magic and scamper away in the opposite direction should those two random passerby's decided to snoop around and attempt to sniff her out.

'About time those two left. Sheesh, I thought they'd never leave.' Seriously, they were walking so excruciatingly slow and it wasn't like this hallway was a short one either. It had a pretty significant distance to it. From one side to the other a person would look like a tiny speck. It was big enough to fit a linear race track.

Just how big was this school? From the outside it would look pretty average for an academy, but it seems so much bigger on the inside. The next thing she knows she was going to start traveling through time and fighting off alien menaces.

Silly thoughts aside, their chattering didn't help speed up the process. And Akko thought _she_ was a chatterbox but those two, ugh. Most of the time Akko just sat there, waiting for the two to finish whatever it was they were talking about so they could get the lead out already. A lot of time was wasted on them idling and talking instead of actual moving. Oh, but the talking…

Crimson orbs darted back and forth, peering down both sides of the hallway for any more random passerby's. The less people know about this, the better. The brown haired witch stalked forwards, sticking close to the walls as usual, ready to dive into any nearby alcoves.

Dang it, Lotte.

There wasn't a doubt in her mind that she was what they were talking about. Loud screaming indeed. Lotte's blood curdling scream that night seemed to have created some weird rumors about this particular area. Akko didn't know to think about that. The rumor was apparently spooking a lot of the other students, which was kind of good? Say what you will about the method, but Lotte's screaming was doing Akko a service by keeping away a significant demographic of random passerby's through scare tactics. For that, she was grateful. But like everything else in life, it has pros and cons.

While it may act as a deterrent for the gullible and easily frightened, the rumor was giving attention to this place. Unnecessary attention. And attention like that meant that it was going to reach the ears of probably everyone. It might scare away the majority of the student body, but it would mean nothing but an opportunity for thrill seekers like Amanda.

Oh god Amanda..

Amanda was the perfect example of the kind of witch that would be interested in the rumor instead of being frightened of it. She was gutsy and bullheaded like that. The American witch would most likely go and investigate just for the hell of it, she would probably be bored enough to do it too, making the prospect even more real. Amanda spent countless days complaining to Akko about her boredom after all. Threatening or considering to leave Luna Nova due to lack of excitement. Considering but never committing. Amanda was never going to leave, no matter how many times she said otherwise. Akko knew it, and Amanda sure as heck knew it too. Amanda loved her friends too much for that, even if the rowdy witch never said it explicitly said it. She was such a big softie. It always makes the brunette laugh thinking about it. For how tough the red haired girl tries to act, she sure can be incredibly cute and adorable.

Like a feisty little kitten.

Akko snorted as she neared her destination. That same distinct patch of darkness on the wall of this "haunted" hallway. The portal under the guise of a cemented wall, hidden in plain sight, leading to the lobby of some sorts. The red eyed witch was able to spot it just by looking now. Before, she distinguished it by counting the number of pillars. Getting to it was becoming second nature. Good.

The little witch checked her surroundings one more time. She had been closer to being caught than she first thought when she brought Sucy and Lotte along. The party of three seemed to be too big to travel covertly. Akko was by no means a ninja or a master of stealth, but things would have gone much more smoothly had she been by herself. So what did that say about her team?

Between Lotte's jumpy nature and Sucy's ghost like appearance, Akko didn't know who attracted more attention. Lotte freaked out and outright screamed bloody murder and Sucy probaly fed the rumor of ghosts by looking like one. Sucy can look like a phantom sometimes. The way the gray girl walked, it would almost look like she was moving _without_ moving. If that made sense.

Sucy had a strange ability to walk forwards without looking like she was moving any of her limbs. All Sucy needed was to wear a hood and levitate off the ground and she would look exactly like a ghost, or an evil sith lord or whatever. It was honestly really weird but cool at the same time.

But no matter how cool it was, it was the last thing Akko needed. Maybe three people really is too big of a group for this kind of thing. Or maybe they were just _that_ bad that sneaking.

One is ideal

two is a company

three is a crowd

four is a party

and five is too loud

Akko mentally recited. She didn't know where she got that phrase from, but maybe it held some grain of truth to it. It made sense, at least in regards to her situation. Even though the original phrase was about something completely different. Something about being an awkward third wheel and making things awkward with your unnecessary presence and third wheely-ness.

Akko stood in front of the hole, portal, entrance thing. Why didn't this thing have a name already? The little witch didn't know what it was formally called so she just resorted to calling it by what it did, which was an entrance connecting two locations. But there were tons of words that could describe that. Gateway, precipice, threshold, and many others. The most obvious one being "portal". It was seriously starting to get tedious referring to it so informally every single time.

The jazz club.

That was it. That was what she was calling it now. The jazz club. Akko never really was good at naming things and she never claimed she was. So this portal and whatever it led to was henceforth going to be known as "The Jazz Club" until Akko could think of a better, more fitting name to call it. She didn't have time right now to sit and ruminate. With a deep breath, Akko steeled her nerves and forced her body through the portal, anticipating a thousand years of pain as she pushed to the other side and into the jazz club.

Oh yeah, this new name was working out great.

/-/

The cafeteria was a haven, a sanctuary for the weary students to escape the restraints of class. It signified a temporary moment of freedom and liberation. There was no work, no tests, no homework, no projects, no presentations, no labs, nothing. Just sweet, blissful, underrated, heavenly nothing. The students didn't have to worry about due dates, deadlines, bad grades, or anything of the sort. It was a place where all the worry and stress could be set aside, kick your legs up and unwind with your friends.

Which is why Sucy found it surprising that Akko willingly snubbed a chance for the three of them to hang out.

After spending almost the entire day after school practicing her magic outside, the brunette had apparently left for the cafeteria early and finished her dinner before anyone else. Said she had to go to the library to "study for her theory scores" and left in a hurry. The brown haired witch had been doing that a lot lately. Just going off on her own to either practice her magic or study for her classes. Dinner was supposed to be a break from all that. It was one of the few times the three of them could really get together, let loose and goof around. But apparently even that was starting to be taken away.

Sucy stared down at her half eaten dinner. Bits and pieces of mushroom strewn across her plate. She had been looking forward to spending time together just like every other night, and made sure to get her favorite dish to make the moment even better. Even if it cost a bit more, it was going to be worth every penny. Or so she thought.

How foolishly optimistic of her.

With a sigh, Sucy slouched her shoulders and sipped her soda lazily. Her red eyes roving over the crowd of other students all talking excitedly among themselves. The alchemist drowned out their animated conversations as background noise. Too lost in her own thoughts as she absentmindedly continued to gaze into the crowded cafeteria. Almost like she was looking for something, searching for that distinct hue of brown hair and single short pony tail. Searching, hoping, but ultimately denying the obvious. What she was looking for was not going to magically pop back in the cafeteria. No matter how hopeful she was, no matter how long she looked, Akko wasn't coming back any time soon.

One gray hand clenched into a fist, her jaw tightened slightly, making her teeth bite into the sweet fizzy drink on her lips. This better not be a recurring theme. Akko's little lonesome jaunts during a time like this. She could understand if the brunette wanted to improve herself, after all, the klutz had set her goal incredibly high right from the start. If their leader wanted to become like Shiny Chariot then she had a lot of work ahead of her.

But that didn't mean Sucy had to like seeing less and less of her friend. The time they spend together was gradually shrinking, mainly in regards to Akko. The brunette usually would be the one to leave early, either to practice or study.

Practice or study. Two things that took up so much of their leader's time on a daily basis. Her team of three was slowly becoming a team of two. It would just be herself and Lotte in their dorm after school due to Akko going outside and practicing spells. The little witch would spend hours until the sun went down and even then she would spend all night studying. Their leader would finally come back exhausted and looking worn out, barely any energy left to do much or interact.

It felt like Akko was drifting apart little by little. Sucy didn't like the feeling. And if she knew Lotte, then the bespectacled witch didn't like it either. Lotte's slight change in behavior was an obvious indication. That silly girl. She thought she was being so sneaky with her secretive little glances at Akko when she thought no one was looking. The orange haired girl was paying particularly more attention to their esteemed leader even since Akko showed them the way to the Yonadem tower. The little carrot top must have figured something was different with Akko then.

And there was that can of worms as well.

Bad enough that Akko was gallivanting on her own, but she had to choose the restricted tower to gallivant in. Sucy had told them there was a good reason the tower was off limits, even though she never told them what that reason was. She was confident that Akko wouldn't venture too deep into the tower. Even Sucy didn't know exactly what it was that gave it such an infamous reputation to those who were aware of it's history.

The gray witch had only been told stories by her parents about bad things happening to the students who were moved in to the upper most levels of the tower. Her parents were told by their parents, and her parents told it to her. That kind of thing.

Sucy guessed it had been covered up, because no book in the library mentioned anything of the sort. She checked and everything. Crossed the t's, dotted the i's, groused the tiles. Absolutely nothing. It all sounded like a conspiracy theory, because that was exactly what it was, a theory. Without the evidence to back it up, it was nothing more than a rumor, an urban legend, a myth, stories told by generations.

Though that hardly meant the stories weren't true. The absence of evidence is not the evidence of absence. The tower itself was shrouded in mystery. Even the early witches didn't know who built the tower, why it was built, and what it was used for exactly. They had some speculations, but no definite answer. The fact that the history books either did not or would not go into detail about it didn't paint a prettier picture. It was as if they completely abandoned the tower shortly after putting it to use and refused to even acknowledge it's existence. No further projects were launched involving the tower, and no attempts were made to integrate it back.

It was all very suspicious indeed.

Normally Sucy wouldn't care at all about the tower. It was all in the past and it didn't cause her any problems, but the fact that Akko chose that tower of all places to play around in changed everything. That bumbling girl better know what she's getting into. Because not even Sucy could comprehend the extent of the danger that might be surrounding the archaic structure. Not with so little information.

"What's wrong, Sucy?"

"Hm?" Sucy turned her eyes to her orange haired teammate.

"I asked if there was anything wrong?" A lot of things, Lotte.

"I'm just thinking" Sucy rested her cheek on one hand and continued staring off in the crowd, taking a sip of her drink.

"I know. You've been looking really deep in thought. What are you thinking about?" Lotte leaned slightly in her direction from across the table. Not too excitedly or overbearing, just curious.

Sucy only hummed in response and sipped at her drink once more, thinking about how she should answer that question in a short and concise manner. She didn't have the energy to muster anything more than that. "I'm just thinking about...-" Sucy trailed off. "Where do you think Akko is right now?" Answering a question with a question was inviting a discussion, but it was a start.

Lotte put a finger on her lips, eyes darting to the side as if in thought. "Didn't she say she was going to study? So either back at our dorm or in the library. Is that what you were thinking about? You were thinking about Akko?"

"Yeah"

"Well don't worry, she must have a really important test coming up. She wouldn't leave us here without a good reason." The little carrot top witch flashed her a sweet smile. Sickly sweet, it almost gave her cavities just looking at it.

"You sound pretty confident about that. Do you trust her that much?" Sucy quelled the urge to argue or deny Lotte's previous statement. The girl looked so happy, so sweet, and just overall shining with positive energy. The alchemist didn't have the heart to shatter that fragile illusion, no matter how flawed she thought it was.

"I do." Lotte said, confirming her thoughts.

"Even when she leads us into some kind of dangerous situation or gets us in trouble?"

"Especially during that" Red eyes widened, not expecting that answer. The kind girl pushed on. "Yes, she usually is at the forefront when diving in to those situations but she never really forces us to go along unless there was no other option. Like that broom race for example. Akko would have done the entire race by herself if the rules didn't require a team of three to participate. Akko goes where she pleases regardless if no one is at her side, she will do what she thinks is right. That girl would probably go against the world if she feels it's the right thing to do." Lotte paused, eyes downcast with a fond smile growing on her face. Sucy recognized that expression. The timid girl was recalling memories of something. Or someone. Of a certain flighty witch that they both knew so well. No doubt. Lotte continued with her explanation. "Akko is just a brave girl like that. That's why...That's why I will always stick by her. Even if no one else will, at least I will be there. I _want_ to be there. To support her and help her achieve her dreams. She hasn't steered us wrong so far."

Sucy snorted. That last line was a joke if she ever heard one. The small spark of amusement snaped her out of her initial surprise. "That's a nice speech you have there, but is that really all to your feelings?"

"What do you mean?" The shy girl asked hesitantly.

"You can't tell me that you haven't noticed Akko's recent change in behavior? Always going off on her own, spending countless days outside just practicing spells. If not practicing magic, then spending nearly all her time with her nose in a book studying. You're telling me her sudden gusto for self improvement doesn't affect you at all?" Like a judge, Sucy hammered down the root of her doubts and concerns on the kind girl.

Lotte remained silent, mulling something over. What that something was, Sucy didn't know and watched her friend with a degree of interest. How was she going to respond? Was she going to deny it, play dumb, or was she going to stand her ground and stick to her initial feelings despite the dilemma Sucy pointed out?

The specialist was unsure of the response she might get, and this uncertainty was making her curiosity grow bigger and stronger the more she thought about it. She doubted that the response would give the solution to her current conundrum, but it would be nice to hear the opinion of someone that was literally by her side and going through the same. Maybe, just maybe, she might find inspiration or a new perspective. A small part of her dared hope.

"You're right. It's not everything." The bespectacled witch spoke. "I have noticed, and it does affect me. At first I was proud of how determined Akko was and how hard she was willing to work, but like you said, maybe she has been working too hard. So much time dedicated on working and rarely anything else, much more than most students are willing to contribute. It can't be healthy. I'm starting to get worried about her, especially that night when we were on the tram she...anyways." Sucy raised an eyebrow at Lotte cutting herself off. Sounds like there was a story there, but she let her orange haired friend continue. "It's true that Akko's solo adventures is slightly nerve wracking, but that doesn't change the way I feel."

Sucy would have been amazed at the extent of her unconditional trust. She would have, if it weren't for the "not yet anyways" tacked on at the end. Sucy reached a hand out and ruffled the short girl's hair. "You really are such a sweet and innocent girl, Lotte."

The kind witch squirmed under the touch. "Why do you two keep saying that?" The innocent girl took the offending appendage with both of her hands and held them, preventing any more head rubs. "Both of you need to stop saying I'm sweet or innocent. I'm a sixteen year old, just like you two, you know."

"You don't like it? It's a compliment." The gray witch grinned cheekily. A gesture that didn't go unnoticed.

Lotte puffed her cheeks and huffed indignantly. "Not the way both of you say it. It's like you guys are looking at a little kid when you say that. I can see it, and this head patting thing you were doing just now." Lotte squeezed Sucy's hand that was still being held in place by both of her own for emphasis. "I'm not a little kid!" Oh gods, Lotte was pouting. Apparently Akko isn't the only one that could provide great reactions. This team was just the best. It's a good thing Sucy bumped into Akko that day during enrollment. Luna Nova would never have been this entertaining otherwise.

Sucy extended her other hand and proceeded to rub Lotte's bright orange hair vigorously.

"Quit it!" Lotte whined like the kid she said she wasn't.

Sucy just couldn't resist.

/-/

Akko hopped off of the tram. The ride didn't feel long at all considering how far the tower was from Luna Nova. The tower was almost as far as the horizon, right by the mountains in the distance. It was pretty freaking far away, yet whenever Akko stared at it from the school it still stood tall and mighty. Just goes to show a gigantic it must be, whoever designed this structure knew what they were doing apparently.

Not to be confused with the New Moon Tower. The New Moon Tower was lightly colored, nearby, and elegant. It was the tower that held the philosopher stone. On the contrary, the Yonadem tower was robust, dark colored, rigid, with a rough and tumble design Like a German Flak tower, as well as being much, much farther away.

Stepping into the little metro station looking room, Akko looked around. It looked like a regular subway station, only smaller and dirtier. Possibly from years of neglect, though not nearly as old looking as the tower obviously.

"No doubt Luna Nova built this underground road at a later date. It would be pretty weird for an ancient monolithic structure to have something as relatively modern as a tram." Akko spoke to no one in particular. She wasn't crazy, it just felt good to talk even if no one was around. It filled the eerie silence that surrounded her. The decrepit nature of her surroundings coupled with the overbearing silence was not helping her relax. She wouldn't go so far as to say it scared her, but Akko wasn't about to put her guard down, that much was certain.

With a flick, her wand burst to life. Green light bursting forth and illuminating the space in front of her like a flashlight. The light from the tram was adequate at best, lighting up her surroundings just enough so that she didn't drown in absolute black. Akko wondered if this place had ever seen any kind of light when no one was around. It reminded her of the darkest and deepest pits of the ocean.

Was this place usually devoid of light if the tram wasn't there to provide any? That was an unsettling thought.

If there was anything living around here then they would have to have lived in complete darkness. Well there better not be any living things to encounter then!

Living or nonliving-

"Shut up brain." The brunette bumped a fist on her head, stopping that train of thought. No pun intended. Akko refused to think deeper on that subject. Not because it was silly, but because the possibility was very much real in this world of magic.

Gathering her courage, the little witch strode forwards. Eyes sharp and penetrating, not letting anything go unseen.

'There better not be anything here' she mused, stepping through discarded papers and other debris. The sheer amount of random paper everywhere, goodness. They were on the floor, some still on the wall, some wrinkled and ripped over the years.

And there were some that looked like they were shredded and slashed. It didn't look natural. Didn't look like they ripped due to wear and tear. It was deliberate, which was kind of odd.

Looking around, Akko could see there were also some with holes in them. Rounded holes. Once again, looking to be deliberate instead of natural degradation. The holes were too big to be regular tacks or nails to hang them up and some holes were right in the middle of the paper, covering up pictures or words. Akko doubted they were intentionally put there. The brunette picked one of the damaged papers and glanced at it. After all, why would an advert put a hole right where the contact info is?

Weird.

The brown haired girl crushed the paper into a ball and threw it aside, not caring about the environment. This place was dirty from neglect and there were dozens of them already laying around. The floor was the trash can in her eyes.

The little witch pushed forwards until she reached a particularly dark hall connected by two wide doors. She was now far enough away where the light of the tram behind her could barely reach. The big hall that lay beyond was filled with equipment and devices, namely the ones normally found in mines and compounds. Crowd barriers, the ones typically used for crowd management and maintaining large groups of people formed some kind of perimeter. Various boxes and lighting equipment strewn behind the barriers.

Hmm.

Akko shined her wand on the various lighting equipment. It would be pretty useful to use these things while they were just laying here being useless. Lighting equipment was literally sitting here, begging to be put to use. It seemed like such a waste not to take advantage. Sure as heck is better than losing battery on her wand using it as a makeshift flashlight.

Akko inspected the devices further. The designs looked pretty old. Finding batteries to power these was going to be hard. Hard, but not impossible. Luckily for her, she knows a tech genius that could help her with this. And no, it wasn't Croix. Someone younger, shorter, and didn't talk.

Akko smiled a confident grin, the gesture filled with teeth.

It was time to pay a certain small German girl a visit.

Note:

 **How would you guys feel about a story that paired Akko with professor Finnelan? That sounds like such a _troll_ move. Maybe I will write it just for shits and giggles, IF I write a story pairing Akko and Finnelan then I will sure as hell make the two of them kiss at least once. Just to rustle some jimmies. I would have to be really bored as hell though, so don't get your hopes up.**

 **Here's the fourth chapter guys. Sorry if the intro was long. It felt too long, even for me. And I'm the one that wrote 16,000 words most of which were narratives. In my brain it went down like this:**

" **The intro is too long you're going to confuse your readers D:"**

 **brain: "I don't care. _Everything_ in this is relevant, anything less is going to make it all crap"**

" **But couldn't we write it in a way that explains everything in fewer words?"**

 **brain: "I don't know, _can_ you?"**

" **...no"**

 **brain: "Exactly. If there was a better way to do this, we would have already done it. Now stop complaining, and start writing"**

 **Okay, maybe a bit less schizo, but that was the general gist. It has also come to my attention that Akko swore a lot in the anime, if what you say is true mrEpic. I didn't know this. I only watched the netflix version of the anime, and I'm well aware how much crap it's getting. I once saw the scene of Akko and Lotte waiting for some berries to fall off the flowers naturally to gather an ingredient as a cure to the moss disease. Lotte clearly yelled out "AKKO!" and the subs said "What did I just tell you!" or something like that. It got a chuckle out of me. They translated what she meant, but not what she said.**

 **Thank you, T bone. It's always nice to know someone likes what you're doing. Though with you it sounds like you were breathing fresh air for the first time in a decade.**

 **Thanks psykoakuma for calling my Akko a human. Lol but seriously, thanks. The reason why I made her be so hard on herself was because she doesn't know how long it's going to take for her to get better at magic. She knows the cause, but she doesn't know how long the effects are. For all she knows, it could take her 50 years in order to be adequate at magic. And she realizes that, which is why she is desperately rushing herself into getting better. The fact that she makes very little progress with the copious amounts of work she's putting is making her even more concerned . Diana is a prodigy as well as having her entire childhood to practice magic to get it all back. Akko doesn't have the luxury of either of those. She is not a prodigy, everything she has, she earned through old fashioned hard work. She also wasn't lucky enough to be aware her magic was taken away so she spent almost a decade Not practicing her magic to get it back. There's a lot of catching up to do.**

 **You don't like Angst Queen Sydon? Well I can't say I'm surprised. This fandom really likes it's fluff heh, unfortunately it's one thing that I... _don't_ know how to write. Lol, It's an unfamiliar feeling. Though, I don't know how it feels to be Akko either.**

 **Chexster don't worry about the length of your reviews. If you can read my 16000 words of narrative, I can read everything you write. Thanks for the vote of confidence**

 **Mastodonic thanks for the analysis. I agree with your point about the world of magic. This show is about magic and it has been very sparing in the amount of stuff it has shown compared to how much there could be. Seriously, a writer could make anything up. From dates, to history, to holidays, to events, to locations, dimensions, the school itself, the forest. there's really a bunch.**

 **Anyways, I spent 4 hours typing this and its now 7:19 AM**

 **Good thing I have no class on Friday. Happy Halloween you guys. Take it easy.**


	5. Chapter 5

Professor Ursula sighed. Six hours of her free time spent doing nothing but paperwork. Mostly grading student papers like tests, essays, and the occasional project. She says her free time because the work of a teacher is rarely finished even if classes officially ended for the day. There would still be many teacherly duties left to attend to even after the dismissal bell rings. The sheer _amount_ paperwork left to sift through was staggering and frankly very obscene. Such an immense quantity of work had no right to even exist if anyone asked her.

The professor stared at the work she had remaining. There was still so many left. It looked like a small mountain range of paper formed on her workstation.

She wanted to light her desk on fire.

And the students thought they had it rough. Hah, those little kiddies. They were so cute thinking that they were being swamped with work. If they thought their paltry school assignments were overwhelming then she could only hope none of them would ever have to fill in as a teacher and be exposed to this torment.

Because they surely won't survive.

Well everyone except Diana won't. That girl was a prodigious anomaly. A true prodigy with many talents and magical skill that was miles above the witches of her generation. The Cavendish heiress already had an impressive number of skills and abilities, some way ahead of her time. The ability to efficiently micromanage her time was surely one of those.

With how hard the dedicated girl worked coupled with the raw talent she possesses, it leaves no doubt that she would be able to handle whatever extra workload outsourced to her.

Speaking of outsourcing.

Professor Ursula sat on her desk, eyes narrowed into thin slits as she glared balefully at the paper in her hands. Maybe if she stared at it hard enough she could burn a hole straight through it and just claim it had been lost due to an unfortunate accident. Oh my, what a shame that would be. So tragic, much loss, very sad.

Knowing her coworkers, they would probably accept that piss poor excuse. She swears all of them were just as or even lazier than the students. After all, she wouldn't be grading a numerology paper if they weren't! She taught astrology, why was she grading a numerology worksheet, which was someone else's subject? Outsourcing her foot. That was just a fancy way of saying "dump all the work on someone else", namely her.

All because she was the new teacher.

Apparently it was tradition among the Luna Nova teaching staff to bury any new teacher alive with work the others either didn't want to do or couldn't be bothered to do. Kind of like an unofficial test or a rite of passage. They wanted to test the mettle of the new teachers, and if the new teachers really wanted a spot in the school then they better shape up or shut up.

At least, that's what professor Ursula rationalized it as. For her her sake. Goodness knows she might lose her mind at the real reason they had this blasted tradition. So she was going to delude herself and adamantly believe they were "outsourcing" all of this work to test her will for the benefit of the school as a whole, and _not_ because they were just lazy.

Nope, not being lazy at all.

They were just..being thorough that's all. No other reason they would make her life miserable with all this work. They wouldn't do all of this for such a mean and callous reason, right? Right.

It was all for the school. They want to put every new teacher through such a grueling process to weed out the weak willed and accept only the best of the best. She shouldn't be affronted by this, in fact, she should applaud them for their dedication.

Professor Ursula face palmed, head in her hand as a headache formed from the mental gymnastics she was currently doing. She chuckled hysterically. Dear god the madness was spreading. She was becoming one of them. The new recruit that would become the new teacher after her better watch out. Because she was going to outsource the ever living hell out of the victim unfortunate enough to fill her role. It would be revenge and retribution worthy of the gods. There will be tears, and for once it won't be her own. Whoever this person was unknowingly sold her soul the moment she applied for this job.

Was it too late to bring Croix back? She really missed her chance to rid herself of this burden when Croix got taken out of the school. Professor Ursula knew Croix nearly caused a nuclear war with her little gadgets, but maybe...just maybe, it might be worth the risk if it meant she could "pass the mantle" so to speak. This godforsaken mantle.

'Is getting rid of all this work really more important than preventing war and prolonging what peace there is in the world?' Her morals and principles-which she thought had run off by now- piped up. The question seemed to snap her back to her senses.

The professor looked at herself in a nearby mirror. She had a crazed look in her eyes, the look of a madwoman staring back at her behind her glasses. Her hair was disheveled and unkempt, some strands standing up at the ends, pointing upwards. All these past hours spent working hadn't done well for her appearance. And sanity, apparently. So focused was she that she neglected to look after herself just to finish her work as fast as possible. She was a mess, in every sense of the word. Both physically and mentally.

'Was it more important?' her conscience asked one more time. After seeing herself in her semi crazed state, the question became a silly one. The answer was obvious.

Of course it wasn't-

"Professor Ursula!" A loud voice screeched, the sound of her office door slamming open nearly making her jump out of her skin.

"Yes, Professor Badcock?" The elderly witch had barged into her room all of a sudden. What could she possibly need now? Normally the senior professor would just interrupt her through her mirror...oh no.

"I've been trying to contact you through your mirror but keep receiving no response signal. There must be a defect in yours." They both looked behind Ursula where the aforementioned mirror was sat upon her desk. True to her word, the mirror was gray. It didn't even show a reflection. A typical sign of a defect. Though "defect" was a rather strong word. She knew exactly what was wrong with it.

"Oh, I see. I'm sure there's a perfectly..logical explanation for that." Which there was. And one she wasn't about to tell. She had turned it off. She turned it off, and completely drained whatever remaining magical energy it had stored, essentially killing it.

The blue haired witch had purposefully turned her mirror off a few days ago. Professor Badcock frequently used it to contact her from far away and give her massive amounts of work or errands, most of which the elder professor could have done herself. Which brings everything back to that hated tradition. Being the new teacher, she had to listen to her superiors.

Damn it all.

In a heated moment, the former magic entertainer had disabled the bloody mirror completely. It would keep her off the radar until one of the other teachers noticed the fact that her mirror had disappeared off the network entirely. They couldn't call her and give her orders if there was no number to call. No news was definitely good news, that phrase became her personal motto in just the span of a few weeks. And if they decide to check, she could always feign ignorance and spin a tale about how it must have finally broken due to it's old age without her notice.

Life was definitely quieter the days that followed, up until this moment that is. All good things must come to an end. Noooo!

Professor Badcock leaned down, facing the mirror, inspecting it with a scrutinizing gaze. As if the thing could be cowed into springing back into working condition by glaring at it. "Make sure to have one of the faeries fix it. If they can't, we might need to buy a new one."

"I'll be sure to get right on that." Yeah, right. All she had to do was recharge it, do a hard reset, and switch it on. She wasn't about to go through all that extra hassle. Though, the fact that she was turning her mirror back on meant she was going to get even more hassle in the very near future. Argh. There was just no winning in this.

The older professor stopped examining her "broken" mirror and paced about her room. "It's important that we all stay in contact with each other and keep ourselves updated."

'It's important to be able to contact me and update mewith more work, you mean.' The exhausted witch deciphered the true meaning behind her superior's words. Professor Ursula slouched ever more slightly. She was doomed. Again. "Will that be all? Or is there more to your visit?" She wanted to smack her brain for blurting that last question out. She was going to _regret_ asking that, she could already feel it.

Professor Badcock turned around, an evil glint in her eyes. "Yes, actually, there _is_ more. I had completely forgotten and was just about to leave, but thank you for reminding me."

'I hate my life'

"There seems to be a rumor that's recently been circulating among the students, and it's causing unrest among the easily frightened girls." The senior removed her glasses, wiped them, and put them back on.

"A rumor?" Ursula looked unsure. "Is a rumor really worth paying attention to? It's just gossip after all, they get spread around all the time with very little consequence. They come and go rather easily."

"Yes, normally you would be correct to assume such a notion if it weren't for the fact that it's affecting the spirit staff as well." What? Is she making a joke? She has to be joking. The serious look on her superior's face remained unchanged, not a trace of humor betraying her stone faced expression. She was either dead serious or a really great actress. And she didn't need to think hard about which one was more plausible. Argh. She wasn't joking.

"Even the spirits have been caught up in it?"

"According to some of the students, the source of the rumors originated from them." Goodness. This just keeps getting better and better. So the spirits were spreading around rumors, possibly intended to be among themselves, and the girls caught wind and were amplifying it. Oh goodie..

Sounds like this particular rumor was here to stay, at least for a little while longer than the rest. She can concede that, but the fact that the spirits were also playing a part in the silly fiasco hardly warranted any real attention. They can gossip to their little heart's content as long as they still did their jobs, in the end that was all that mattered.

"So where does this leave us? What does this rumor have to do with me?"

"The situation is escalating, gradually. The spirits have become somewhat leery of their surroundings and have become on edge, particularly at night. Their heavy mood is having a negative effect on young and impressionable students, and it shows no sign of decelerating. We can't let things continue as they are and the headmistress as well as the other professors feel something needs to be done." She didn't like where this was going. Old instincts flared up, raising alarm bells in her head. Old instincts that weren't there before she worked here. Old instincts and maybe some form of PTSD mixed in as well. The urge to escape has never been more gripping. She needed to leave, right now. Her instincts told her something unpleasant was going to be brought down upon her if she stayed any longer. Sadly, it was rarely wrong.

Before the magic entertainer could think up an excuse to literally be anywhere else, the older witch continued with her message, sealing her fate.

"You and have been tasked with investigating this rumor and if possible, remove the cause." Ursula groaned internally, translating "You and I" to just "You" and no one else.

"And you're sure investigating or disproving a rumor will help?" If she had to do this, then it better have some kind of result or payoff. She swears if they just gave this assignment on a whim…

"Most likely not" What?! "Your-ahem 'our' involvement will be more of a show than anything. The presence of faculty witches looking into the matter might calm down the spirits which in turn would do the same for the students."

so this task was going to be more of an errand than anything else, huh? She sighed, no use arguing against it now. "I don't suppose you know anything about this? Somewhere I could start looking?" she already had to do this, might as well try to get whatever answers out of anything and everything that could talk.

"I'm afraid not" Professor Badcock said, not looking "afraid" at all. "Teachers my age are normally out of the loop when it comes to student affairs such as gossip." and that's why they chose her for this. She suppose being the youngest of the staff meant she would have the easiest time for the youths to relate with and get some answers out of them. At least, according to their logic.

They talked for a few more minutes about the current state of affairs before the older witch finally left. Her departure drawing a small sigh of relief. The moment of reprieve was short lived as a knock came from her door.

My, wasn't she popular today?

"Professor Ursula?" A familiar voice asked from the other side. The blue haired witch smiled and opened the door in greeting, eager to meet the new company. Compared to the previous visitor, this one was an angel.

"Yes, Akko?" is there anything I can help you with?" She was already swamped with work, but this time she would gladly do a few more if it would help Akko. Unlike her other jobs, she enjoyed helping her little protege. And work you enjoy doing was no longer work.

"Yes, there is. Don't worry, I'll make this quick. You must have things you need to get done as a teacher right?" the young witch closed her eyes and smiled sweetly at her. The sight made her spirit soar as high as a kite. But it also brought a stab of guilt straight through her heart along with it.

Akko was so kind and considerate, even after what she did to the poor girl. Even after taking her magic-albeit unknowingly- and causing most of her struggles and hardship, Akko still found it within herself to treat her to the same love and kindness Ursula herself tried to shower on the young witch. Akko was reflecting Ursula's love and kindness straight back at her, giving just as much to her in return.

Except her kindness wasn't the same. She was an atoner, Akko wasn't. Ursula's kindness was brought on by pity and a desire to make up for her past mistakes. Every time she looked at Akko, every time she saw the little witch struggling to cast a spell or fly a broom, it would always remind her that she was the cause.

She still loved the girl of course, but she paid special attention to Akko because of this feeling.

The poor girl was going through so much toil and hardship because of her. The young witch was paying for her mistakes, all because she loved her enough to watch her shows in person. It warmed her heart that Akko still looked up to her despite it all. Treated Ursula like one of her own, when she could easily have done the opposite. The girl was a precious marvel that didn't deserve the poor fate she was dealt with.

"No, not at all. You can always come to me for help. My door is always open." No one ever said that she was a paragon of virtue, though it might seem like it to some. If they did, well…they best remove those rose tinted goggles they were wearing and look at the real world through their own eyes. That was all she could say.

Akko laughed sheepishly "You don't have to pretend like you're not already busy. I was actually here a few minutes ago and heard you and some other professor talking."

"Oh, you heard that huh?"

The brunette rubbed the back of her neck. "Yeah, it sounded like you were talking about something important and I didn't want to eavesdrop, so I walked around for a while and came back." the little witch admitted guiltily.

The statement almost made her laugh. "Important" she says. That couldn't have been further from the truth. It was a waste of time is what it was.

Waste of time or not, it was still something she had to do, much to her chagrin. She looked at the girl in front of her. She was a student of this school, so doesn't that mean..? Well it was worth a shot. "You don't have to worry about eavesdropping, it wasn't anything important, but I do have one question. Something related to what you may or may not have heard."

"Okay, shoot."

"Have you heard any rumors going around recently?" Knowing Akko, she probably hasn't. The brunette didn't seem to be the type to indulge in gossip. Her past experiences with rumors most likely didn't help. Her reputation as well as her dignity suffered because of such stories back at the beginning of the school year. Looking forward for so long to attend a magic school and that was the treatment she received, on her first year no less. Another painful experience she wouldn't have had to go through if it weren't for her mistake. She shrugged off another stab of guilt.

The brown haired girl stood at attention "Rumors? Since when were you interested in those? Wait." The young witch put two and two together. "Is that what you were talking about? You have to look into a rumor?"

"Yes." Ursula said dejectedly. "I've been tasked to investigate the stories and suppress it's negative effects on the students as well as the spirits." She felt ridiculous just talking about it, it's going to be so much worse once she has to actually do it.

'Someone, anyone, save me from this.'

"Wow! You sound like an investigator, like the agents in those movies and TV shows!" Akko didn't seem to share her negative views about this "task". Exclaiming animatedly about how cool it sounded with a starry eyed look on her face. It honestly looked really endearing. She couldn't fight the smile growing on her face at Akko's enthusiasm. At least one of them thought it was cool.

 _It's something!_

"So have you heard anything? Maybe from your friends? Your team? Your classmates?"

The little witch visibly deflated at the question, looking honestly pained. "I'm sorry, but I really don't know anything. I'm not really one to follow up on those silly gossip." No question as to why that is.

"Oh. Thanks for answering me anyways." Looks like it's back to square one. The square of shame.

"Yeah. Sorry I couldn't help, but thanks for the warni- I mean, thanks for confiding in me. It really means a lot."

"You're welcome. Now, what was it you needed from me?" Ursula brought them back on track.

"Oh! Right, I wanted to ask if you had any maps of the school I could borrow. Preferably the maps that actively marks where you are in it."

Actively marks where you are? "Ah, I think I know what you mean. Hold on, I'll go get some." Professor Ursula opened a drawer on her desk and pulled out two small cubes. She gave one to Akko, who looked at it with skepticism.

"It's so tiny. Are you sure this thing is a map?" Ursula laughed slightly. That's exactly what she thought when she was first shown the object.

"The size is for convenience, it's easier to compress such a detailed map into a cube than lugging a very detailed, but also very large, map. Here, I'll show you how it works." she raised her own cube, presenting it to Akko. "These maps are powered by three small batteries inside. Right now they are off, you need to turn them on first. You do that by pressing this button." Ursula pressed a black button on the side, giving off a distinct click sound. "It works like a wand, so after you turn it on, just act like you were using it to cast a simple spell like illumination magic for example."

Ursula raised her cube slightly and a transparent map appeared like an open book floating in front of her. She could see the outline of the school as seen from above, a blinking orange arrow where her room was, signifying her location on the map.

"Whao.." Akko only stared, jaws left open in wonder. The sight drawing an amused chuckle out of the blue haired witch.

"Now you try." She motioned at Akko to do the same with her item, a silly smile still plastered on her face. Seeing Akko's slack jawed state never ever gets old.

"R-right! Let's see..." Akko pressed the button, causing the device to hum and glow slightly in her hands. Akko's gaze immediately darted to her idol, eyes wide with uncertainty. So cute!

The professor nodded in support.

The little witch turned her attention back on the item and raised it ever so slightly, ready to cast the spell and activate it. Her arm stretched out and her face turned away, one eye closed as the other looked on hesitantly. Akko looked honestly afraid that it wouldn't work. Why wouldn't it? Activating it didn't require a long complex spell, even the slightest bit of magic would be enough to make it work.

Ursula recognized the expression her student was wearing. She saw it many times back during the moments she would help Akko practice her magic. When the practice would drag on for too long with relatively little progress. The little witch would start _expecting_ her spells to fail instead of being eager to see if it succeeded.

After all, it must be hard to remain optimistic when even the best efforts kept giving the same result time and time and again. Her many failures must have become a burden weighing heavily on her mind if she was still affected by it even now.

Seeing the normally hopeful and flighty girl reduced to a hesitant mess that was afraid to even look at her spells in fear of inevitable failure was like poison to her eyes. Poison she wished she could remedy with potions or magic.

"You can do it, Akko." Akko's self doubt and seemingly dwindling faith in her own abilities couldn't be fixed with spells or potions, but maybe a few words of encouragement might be enough to spark her confidence back. It wouldn't fix the problem, not by a long shot, but it was enough to plant the seed and hopefully enough for Akko to pick herself back to her feet.

The little witch raised her arm, this time with a purpose. With a firm motion, Akko activated the spell.

"See, that wasn't so difficult was it?"

"Wow! I did it!" The little witch jumped on the balls of her feet, head swiveling back and forth between her teacher and the map presented in front of her. "I actually did it, haha!"

It was difficult not to share in Akko's happiness. Professor Ursula smiled at the adorable "yay!" the brunette let out. The young girl's cheer sure was contagious. She wasn't complaining though, her cheer was a sight better than the emotion she had earlier.

"I actually..I actually did it.." Akko's high spirited celebration settled down as the young witch smiled fondly at the success before her. It was a contained smile that just appreciated the proof held in her hands, evidence of a success that was a long time coming. Akko seemed really glad of the creation she made, a little too much so. As if she was deprived of it all her life and wanted to cherish what little she received.

It was a melancholic sight if she ever witnessed one. She could only imagine what Akko must be feeling at this moment. For now Ursula could only find solace on the fact that the melancholia was caused by something good, not something that could cause heartache. There was something to be said about small mercies in life.

Professor Ursula turned, switching her map off and made to place it back in the drawer. She was going to give Akko some time to contemplate, she deserved at least that much to help her find her step back. After a few minutes of ambient silence, Ursula noticed Akko's wistful demeanor had gone and was replaced with one full of focus. Looks like she has finally come into terms with whatever inner turmoil plaguing her. Good. "Why do you need these maps specifically, if you don't mind me asking?" Turning back around, she could see Akko was now still, staring intently at her map. Staring at a particular spot as if looking for something that wasn't there.

"Oh, I was just curious that's all. There's a lot about this school that I don't know about, so I figured having a map might be handy." The brunette waved her hand distractedly, still searching her map for whatever it was she was looking for.

"But couldn't regular maps do the same thing? We have some of those too that you could use."

"They could, but not all maps are made equal. This school itself can't be completely shown in one map. Each floor could be it's own map and this building has multiple. That would mean I'd have have to lug around one map for each floor, that's not even counting for the other places that technically count as 'Luna Nova' property. The New Moon Tower comes to mind, among many others. Others like the labyrinth under the school, the Old Archives, the Northern Campus, and the Blue Moon Abyss." Akko shuddered. " _That_ place in particular is creepy, I do not want to go back there."

Professor Ursula hummed in acknowledgment as Akko started fiddling around with her new toy. It makes sense, though it makes her wonder just why they even bothered with conventional maps anymore. The future is now.

The little witch started swiping and scrolling her map. "I would need to carry at least ten different maps around with me just to know where I am for every time I go somewhere. That's not gonna be any fun. So why not just get one that shows me where I am at all times and updates itself according to my..surroundings..." The young girl trailed off, hands still as the stopped swiping.

Hm?

"What were you saying about your surroundings?" Akko had suddenly cut herself off. What was she staring at? Whatever was showing on her map seemed to grab the girl's whole attention.

"..."

Professor Ursula sighed and peeked over the girl's shoulder, eager to see just what it was that's got her student so distracted.

The first thing she noticed was how surprisingly detailed Akko's map was. She was aware that the quality of the map produced varied depending on the quality of the witch that used it, but this was comparing real roses to fake plastic ones.

In terms of looks, it was more or less aesthetically pleasing. It had a blue background with white lines forming the walls of structures and buildings, similar to a blue print in design. It was standard in that regard, but it was superior in terms of presenting information. Unlike hers, Akkko's map had labels, a scale, as well as a compass rose and a legend. A small image of a bell where the bell tower was located, in the legend were the words "Bell Tower" next to the image of a bell. Various other images dotted the map on places relating to the images themselves, like a book for the library and kitchen utensils for the cafeteria.

While Akko's detailed map was impressive, it wasn't what stood out the most. The brown haired girl had zoomed out of her map, and moved the focus point way out into the outskirts. Akko had adjusted her map to show where the mountains were. She now understood just why she had been silent.

A small section of the map was pure black. More specifically on the mountains. There was a gaping darkness somewhere out in the mountain range. What was that?

Her first thought was a defect, a problem with the map itself. A quick check on several different other maps disproved that however, they all showed the same darkness in the exact same location. Not to mention Akko's map had labeled the anomaly. On the young witch's screen, the black hole type landmark had been distinguished, which meant the map acknowledged it's existence and wasn't the result of faulty wiring.

Whatever this thing was, it wasn't an error. This aberration exists. But what was it? How did it come into existence? Since when did it exist and for how long? She had these maps for quite some time and have never seen something as glaringly obvious as a black spot so dark that it looked like a rip in space and time. This was something recent, something happened recently to cause this change, whatever it was.

And most of all, what did it mean? Was it something magic related, the environment, nature? Or was it something new that she never heard of before? She wasn't sure just what exactly the presence of this unknown variable in the mountains could entail. In terms of existence, these maps were a relatively new magic. She couldn't research on the abnormality even if she tried, there was literally no information available for her to find. These maps didn't exist long enough for it to have much of a history or a proper logging system she could use as a reference.

"Professor, what does a black spot mean on these maps?" Oh dear. She should've known. Having never seen these maps before, Akko wouldn't know the irregularity of what she unknowingly discovered.

"Ah, it um, it means that it hasn't been updated yet!" Ursula explained, her hands waving animatedly as if trying to convey her point through frantic sign language. It was kind of the truth. Having no idea what it was, neither she nor Akko could possibly update the map. Even though there was no known method to update one yet. What was shown was dependent on the quality of the user. It was inconsistent and very unstandardized that way, which may lead some to see it as unreliable. That may explain why it hasn't completely replaced conventional maps as being the norm.

it was better to let Akko think nothing of the issue, lest the hyperactive girl starts becoming curious and decide to snoop around something the professor herself doesn't know anything about.

Ursula studied Akko's map once more, particularly at the blighted spot. All the places of the school was tagged with a small image and a label on the legend.

Not this one.

Unlike the others, the dark fracture didn't have an image. It was only tagged with three white question marks. The legend labeled it merely as "Unknown".

Red bespectacled eyes stared outside the big window towards the mountains. Her gaze didn't falter, trying to find a correlation between the blighted mountains shown on the map and the actual mountains in the distance.

Try as she might, it was proving too difficult to ascertain much. It was extremely dark outside, much more than usual. On a normal night the darkness would be mitigated by the glow of the moon as well as the countless stars that dotted the sky.

Tonight however, dark clouds loomed over the school. Hovering as far as the eye can see in all directions, blocking out the moon and stars and by extension, any semblance of light aside from the ones provided by the school.

Attempting to see such a great distance with so little visibility became a trying endeavor. She could barely make out the outlines of the mountain barrier that shaped the horizon.

As well as the obscured form of an old tower.

/-/

Her wrist really hurts. Her wrist really hurt, her knees were weak, her arms felt heavy, and her palms were sweaty. And the wind hurts her face.

Why was she staying where the wind hurts her face?

"Forget this!" Akko dropped the heavy boxes she was lugging around and adjusted her scarf. Burying her entire face under them below her eyes. The cold sting of the wind became unbearable. She already had to carry these dumb-and very heavy-boxes in this chilly weather, her face didn't need to start hurting from something that didn't even have any mass.

The weather had been really chilly lately. A thick layer of dark clouds engulfed the atmosphere and hasn't left the sky since. Blowing wind that felt like it was sucking her much needed body heat.

Her scarf plus the beanie she was currently rocking now almost hid her entire face and head, looking like a convenience store robber or some kind of winter terrorist. She could feel the cold start seeping in from the uncovered section where her eyes were. Awesome. Now she was thinking about buying some goggles to complete the set.

The first day it was the uniform jacket, the second day it was the beanie, the third day it was this scarf, and now apparently she needed goggles. Every day she becomes less and less a Japanese witch and more and more an Eskimo. On the final day she will have an igloo instead of a dorm room.

Classes were over for the day, but instead of practicing like she normally did, she was running a special errand. She was currently outside on the grassy plains of their school, heaving a couple of boxes she had bought from town to use as leverage for a date with destiny. Kind of. If only she could just hurry up and get to the green team already, her arms were beginning to feel like falling off.

"Akko! Wait up!" Lotte and Sucy caught up, both wearing nothing extra on their uniform jacket despite the cold. A tiny spark of irritation shot up inside her at that. What were these two, made of stone? Lotte was from Finland, it was cold there so it made sense that she would be as cool as a cucumber in this weather. The Finnish girl probably never felt more in her element than this moment. But Sucy? Wasn't Sucy from South East Asia? What right did she have wearing less protective clothing than Akko?

Akko was from Japan, the temperature there could drop as low as ten degrees Celsius and while that might not be as drastic as Canada or Russia, it was still pretty freaking cold! Compare that to countries like the Philippines that sat near the equator, the lowest temperature all year round was probably forty degrees Fahrenheit and that was the _lowest_ she could guess.

So Lotte was a penguin who felt at home in colder temperature and Sucy was apparently impervious to weather conditions. It made sense if one considers the fact that Sucy had the pale complexion of a corpse in a morgue. You learn something new everyday.

"Why are you guys lagging behind? I'm the one carrying these things." Lotte dry heaved in response. The girl bent over, hands on her knees and sounding like she was gulping enough air to fill a beach ball with every inhale. "Oh come on, you only ran like three hundred yards. You guys need to get out more and exercise. All that broom riding has made you all lazy." Akko pretended to care while really just secretly enjoyed the opportunity to stroke her own ego. If these two could one up her in cold temperature tolerance, she could at least feel better one upping them in physical endurance. Aw yeah.

"I'm sorry, what was that? I can't hear you over the wind up here." A taunting voice called down above them. Sucy had already hopped on her broom and was laying down lazily on it in the air. "What's wrong with being lazy? If we can ride these brooms, then we can just fly those boxes to where they need to go, unlike what you're doing. Work smart, not hard. But I guess you wouldn't know. Witches who can fly, can also get used to finding ways to make labor work much easier."

"Oh yeah? Can you get used to me beating you up? Because I can, oh 'girl who takes it easy on a broom'." The brunette grinned challengingly.

"I don't know, you'd have to catch me first. How are you going to do that with your feet stuck on the ground?" The gray witch lowered herself and hung upside down, pressing her face up to Akko's own. So close were they that their noses were almost touching. "How, Akko?" Sucy egged on, a smug smirk adorning her expression.

Akko blushed at the close proximity. Too close too close too close, did this girl not have any boundaries? Red eyes blinked in surprise, caught off guard by the sudden confrontation. The brown haired girl glared defiantly as a rush of heat converged on her cheeks. The sight making Sucy's grin grow to shit eating proportions. Fantastic, way to stick it to 'em Akko. Whatever threatening snarl she tried to make was surely ruined by the blush that no doubt grew on her face. She knew it, and Sucy definitely knew it if the shit eating grin was any indication.

Sucy took Akko's flustered demeanor as a cue to resume her egging and proceeded to get under her skin. Akko's shoulders shook as she felt herself slowly reach her boiling point with each mock and taunt. "grr get out of my face!" the brunette made to lunge at the gray girl, arm outstretched aiming to grab Sucy off of her broom and beat her with it.

Sucy's eyes sparkled as she flew away just out of arm's reach at the last second, cackling madly.

"Get your sorry butt back here!"

"Aw what's wrong? I thought you were going to pummel me? Having a hard time?" Akko wanted to pluck those words out of the air and garrote her with it.

"Why don't you come down here and say that to my face?" Was Akko's sorry attempt at goading. It was never going to work. Only an idiot would fall for a cheap trick like that, and Sucy was-unfortunately-not an idiot.

The gray witch only looked down with pitying eyes. Urk, her self esteem.

Akko visibly calmed herself down, taking deep even breaths to try and circulate the rage and anger stewing inside her bloodstream. She was used to Sucy getting a rise out of her. This shouldn't be anything different. She was better than this. "Humph." The brunette raised her nose up snootily and turned away, sauntering off with her head held high.

"Whaa..?" Lotte, who had tried to pacify the situation and was promptly ignored, soon gave up and just watched the exchange. She stared open mouthed at the Un-Akko like spectacle Akko was making. Sucy probably had a similar reaction. She wished she could turn around and point and laugh at their expressions, but these boxes were getting heavy and they weren't going to deliver themselves.

It was only after she had covered the length of a football field did they finally snap out of their stupor. Talk about an overreaction. It wasn't _that_ uncharacteristic was it?

"Ah! Akko, wait for us!"

She didn't.

/-/

"What's inside of the boxes anyway?"

"Just some parts."

"Some parts?" Sucy echoed. "Is that why you're out here? Looking for the Green team to give these to Constanze?" Sucy raised the box she was carrying. The two of them finally decided to give her a hand, and all three of them were now carrying a box for each, drastically relieving Akko's poor arms.

"As usual, your mind is as sharp as ever. I haven't even mentioned the green team."

"Why else would you be carrying a box of parts? Constanze is the only one in this school who needs them."

"Good point. But still, why are you guys here anyway? While I appreciate the help, don't you two normally have your own stuff to do at this time?"At this time of the day Lotte and Sucy would normally spend it inside the school, doing whatever it is they do. If she had to guess, Lotte would be studying and Sucy would be experimenting or something. They would both be inside the school, leaving Akko on her own to practice her spells outside. That's the way it's been for the past few weeks.

Lotte piped up first. "Oh I just wanted to spend some time with you. You've been really busy lately, so I figured I could come by and maybe help with...whatever this is." The carrot top motioned at her box for emphasis.

Akko turned to Sucy, waiting for her excuse. The gray witch gave a blank stare back. "...Lotte was going to pester me all day if I didn't come with and help." The orange haired girl predictably denied that claim. Not that it mattered much, Akko could already tell Sucy was leaving something out. There was more to Sucy's feelings than she let on, which was to be expected when dealing with someone as closed off and non-verbal as her. Akko just found it strange, _why_ that would be.

Before, Sucy often complained about the waste of time whenever Akko asked them to accompany her when she practiced. Usually the last to arrive, and the first to leave. She unabashedly made it known how much of her valuable time was lost whenever she got dragged outside with Akko. That was one of the main reasons why Akko stopped asking her team to go with her whenever she went out to practice. Even Lotte was starting to show signs of reluctance whenever she asked for her timid friend's company, that was the nail in the coffin for Akko. If Even Lotte was starting to dread being there, then Akko was clearly doing something wrong. So she stopped asking for their presence and practiced alone in her own time, making sure not to become a burden on their schedules. After all, they both had their own lives to live. It just took a while for Akko to fully realize that. She hasn't asked them since.

So it was kind of weird that these two, especially Sucy would be sticking so close all of a sudden. But hey, if they wanted to follow her around on Akko's capricious vagary and whims, then more power to them.

"Are we almost there? My arms are starting to get tired." Akko's been carrying these since the beginning, if anyone should be complaining its her. Luckily for both of them, they actually were almost there.

"We are, I think I see them up ahead...what are they doing?" the brunette could see the three figures of the green team in a clearing next to a tall pole connected by a box full of...something. Constanze was looking at some kind of blueprint, Amanda was in the air tying something on the end of the pole, and Jasminka looked like she was pouring oil on top of the wooden pole and painting it all over.

What the..?

Amanda finished whatever she was doing and descended towards them. Akko waved in greeting.

"What's up Lotte, Sucy, and other." Amanda greeted cooly. Akko twitched. What kind of hello was that?

"Don't label me off!"

Why was everyone messing with her today? Did she miss a staff meeting or something, what is going on around here?! Next to her, a bead of sweat rolled down Lotte's face and Sucy was laughing her little heart out.

Amanda chuckled. "What's up, Akko." That's better.

"Hey, Amanda. Um, what are you guys doing?" she looked behind Amanda, at the construct they were setting up. The rest of the girls followed suit.

"That? We're setting up a lightning rod." Amanda pointed a thumb behind her. "Constanze has an idea and she needed our help putting it together."

'I work alone!' heh, guess that didn't apply to teamates.

"A lightning rod huh? What are you guys going to use it for?" Last she remembered was that a lightning rod redirects lightning from the roof of a house to another piece of metal under it, leaving the house relatively unscathed.

"Well I could go on and on about the technicalities of what Constanze has planned but I doubt I could do it without sounding like a stuttering moron, nor would you three probably be interested in hearing a long drawn out explanation so I'll just put it simply. Cons wants to use lightning as energy to power those batteries we have hooked up to the rod." She pointed towards the group of boxes which were connected by a cable.

Now that she looked at it, they kinda looked like car batteries. So the little German was currently messing around with power and batteries huh? Akko could feel a grin coming on.

What a coincidence.

"I'm pretty sure that's not how that works, using lightning as an energy source. Is that even possible or efficient in any way?" This all sounded very science-y in nature, something that Akko specifically avoided before her time in Luna Nova. Biology was okay, Chemistry was horrible, and physics was complete and utter hell.

Projectile motion. Her whole body shuddered as a chill went up her spine just thinking about those two words put together. It was a wonder she even passed.

"That's what I said." The American witch replied, digging into her pocket and pulling out a small board. "But then she just gave me this." Amanda handed over the small board, on it was a single sentence written in chalk.

[That's why this is called an experiment.]

pfft! Akko snorted as a hand flew up to her mouth to try and contain a mirthful giggle from spilling out. "Getting sass from a little girl. You must be losing your touch, Mrs. Delinquent." The words just flew out of her mouth before she could process what they were. It felt _that_ good to say them. So good and so right.

To her disappointment, the teasing failed to get a rise out of the redhead. For she just crossed her arms, looking unimpressed. "That 'little girl' owns a bunch of guns," Whatever was left of Akko's mirth died on her lips and the smile fell off her face. "and a rocket launcher, and whatever else she built in her evil lair. Not to mention she can build a flying pirate ship that can also turn into a giant fighting mech. Professor Croix had a bunch of toys that possessed a missile, but nobody realizes just who the _real_ threat of this school is." Amanda turned her gaze towards Constanze, scrutinizing her poor teammate that didn't even talk. "She could destroy this whole academy if she wanted, so I'm sorry if I'm not all that riled up about 'getting sass' from her."

"..."

"Um. Amanda, are you okay?" Lotte looked worried, concerned about her safety all of a sudden. Little wonder why she felt that way after what Amanda just said. All that high speed flying must have made her lose her last marble.

"Did you get enough sleep? Maybe you should go back and sleep these crazy thoughts away." Akko reached a hand out for Amanda to take. "Come on, I'll take you back."

The American glared at the hand, then at her. "I was joking. You don't need to act like I'm crazy or something. I wasn't being serious about what I said."

Lotte breathed a sigh of relief, genuinely reassured. Wait, did Lotte seriously think Amanda was crazy for a moment there? Akko already knew Amanda was kidding, but Amanda didn't need to know that Akko knew. "Right. Okay, sure." The brown haired girl made sure to drag out the words condescendingly to make it sound like the type of tone used to talk to a mentally unstable person.

"Stop talking to me like that." The red head snapped. The sharp response drawing a wave of elation Akko never knew she could feel. Was this why Sucy was the way she was? This was high quality entertainment of the soul cleansing variety.

"We're not talking to you like anything" Akko blatantly lied.

Amanda huffed. "Whatever, I already know I'm completely and utterly sane. I don't need anyone's validity."

"That's what they all say." Sucy spoke up beside her, instantly making things better, funnier, and worse all at the same time.

Before Mount Amanda could explode, a fourth and final voice cut in.

"Akko, Sucy, _Please._ " The two of them shut up immediately.

"Thank you, Lotte." The leader of the Green team said, glad that somebody was on her side. "Now what business did you guys have with us, you guys came out here for a reason didn't you?" Amanda specifically set her eyes on Akko when she said that last part. As if she was the one to turn to for answers to questions regarding her team's motives or actions. Akko didn't know why, it's not like she had any control over what her teammates did. She might have been delegated as the team's impromptu leader, but whatever her teammates did, they chose to do on their own. Her authority was worth diddly squat.

"Lotte and I are helping Akko run some errands involving your team." Sucy gestured towards the boxes they were carrying, two of which were now on the ground courtesy of her two teammates. Akko rolled her eyes, she was still carrying hers. Weaklings.

Amanda stared at them, then at Akko. One brow raised questioningly.

"Yeah. Can I borrow Constanze for a bit? I just need to ask her something." Yeah, 'asking'. That was one way to put it.

"Sure, we're almost finished setting everything up and were about to take a break. Jasminka made sure to bring a lot of food since we're pretty far away and might take who knows how long to get done." Amanda grimaced. "Too much food, actually. We might not be able to finish it all. You guys wanna help us?" Akko could practically feel her team's spirits lifting up behind her at the proposition.

"Sure." Sucy said, trying to sound nonchalant. Would have fooled anyone else if Akko hadn't been paying attention. There was an eager inflection in her tone that was absent when she was truly uninterested.

"Sounds like fun!" Her other teammate sounded especially pleased. Both of the girls were probably already hungry, made more so by the exercise and the-apparently heavy-lifting Akko made them go through. They deserve to at least get this much for helping her carry her load. Her team sounded so excited, relatively in Sucy's case, who was she to deny them this? Yes, she knows she was the team leader, but that title was more of a burden than it was an honor. Like being team leader actually meant anything. It was just more responsibility. All it did was make her feel responsible for whatever her teammates did or went through.

But for some reason, she wouldn't have it any other way.

"What do you say, Akko?" Lotte snapped her out of her rumination. Why was Lotte asking for her approval? Even Sucy was looking at her expectantly. As if she was actually going to follow up on what Akko decided, whether agree or disagree. And this was Sucy she was talking about. Since when did she care about her opinion?

Akko could see Lotte's once bright smile turn into a strained one, as if she wholeheartedly expected Akko to refuse. Was she that worried about her answer? Just how hungry are you, Lotte? Sheesh.

"Sure, we'll do it. But I have to talk to Constanze first." So that she can finally bribe the small girl into helping her with her little lighting problem back at the tower. These boxes were for Constanze alright, but she never said they didn't come with strings attached.

The gray clouds above them twisted and coiled, a cold wind swept through as thunder rumbled in the distance.

/-/

"Look, I know I told you that we're going somewhere that's pretty far away this late at night, but is that really necessary?"

The little German nodded her cute little head, contrasting the stern look on her face.

"No, it is _not_ necessary! Did you grow up in a war zone or something? Why do you even have those?" Akko pointed at the sub machine gun held in her friend's hands. Despite it's black color, the weapon glistened from what little light there was around them in the darkness of the back hall. The fact that it freaking shined in the dark told a lot about how brand new it was.

That gun was brand new and was kept in pristine condition. No doubt that Constanze got herself a new toy and was just dying to have an opportunity to put it to use. Her silly excuse of "We don't know what's out there." written in chalk was just that. It would have been much more convincing if the girl wasn't cradling the weapon like a baby and...making cooing sounds?

Okay! This was getting weird. Time to put them back on track.

The two of them were at the Back Hall, the exact opposite of the Main Hall and at the opposite side of the school. They had agreed to meet up here after their respective teammates were asleep. She figured to use their teammates as a standard. If a night owl like Sucy was asleep, then there's a good chance everyone else that didn't need to be awake would be asleep as well. That might not be right, but it's the best method she has.

Akko was in her usual attire, something that she really should change if these late night escapades was going to become a regular thing. She had almost been caught with Lotte and Sucy, if she gets spotted this time then the uniform she was wearing is going to serve as a gigantic tip off.

She was aiming to not get spotted at all, but if there was one thing she learned when she brought Lotte along, it was that some situations can't be helped and anything could happen despite careful planning. She sure as heck didn't consider Lotte freaking out midway, but she did, and Akko had to improvise to save all three of their skins.

Who knows if another curve ball might get thrown in her direction? Something might happen beyond her control and she gets seen. If that happens, she would much rather they not see something as incriminating as a school uniform. Maybe she could dress up as a monster or something, or wear a prop that looks like wings, or an extra pair of arms, whatever. Anything to get the suspicion off the students, because suspicion on the students was suspicion on her by proxxy. And they might take extra steps to target the students specifically. It was important to keep them out of the loop.

But her new partner in crime was something else.

Constanze had also shown up in her usual attire, but she had a bag, presumably for tools she could use for the job, as well as a headlamp and a gun.

The bag she could understand, the headlamp she could argue for, but the gun was totally out there. Why oh why the German girl was so attached to her weapons, Akko would never know. Sneaking around with a gun wasn't being covert at all, it was being suspicious. And not the regular kind of suspicious like sneaking past curfew that Akko was doing, it was potential multiple homicide suspicious. Especially since Constanze was the only witch in this entire school that uses such things.

Akko didn't know if there were any other students who knew of Constanze's penchant of owning guns, but if there were then it could be traced back to the small girl. Some students might testify, then the teachers will search Constanze's room, then they will grill her for information, then the little German might spill the beans and rat her out and then bad things will happen.

Yet despite that, it was already too late. What was she gonna do? March all the way back to the dorms and waste time putting the gun back? No, too much hassle. They were going to leave right _now_.

"Fine. You can keep your little toy." She conceded exasperatedly. "But just remember what it would look if they catch you sneaking around at night with a gun. They might think you were going to assassinate someone." She tried to sound as ominous and foreboding as possible.

Constanze gulped but rolled her eyes. The German girl saw right through her little ploy, but felt worried anyways. So it did half of the job at least.

"If that's gonna be all, then let's get moving. No use wasting any more precious minutes." The little German genius saluted in respone.

So adorable.

The two of them spent the next few minutes traveling in silence, Ghost stepping towards their destination. Akko, being the one who knew where they had to go, took the lead. Constanze kept excellent pace right behind her. The short witch seemed to know exactly what she was doing, which raised more questions than it answered. Did she do this king of thing before?

Akko made sure to pay extra attention when peeking around corners. Her ears were constantly sharp, trying to pick up whatever sound that was even slightly out of the ordinary. Now that professor Ursula had told her of her new job as a part time unofficial investigator, she had to be extra careful. Luckily, she hadn't seen, heard, or encountered a single soul ever since the two of them left the Back Hall. Maybe the spirits really had been scared off. If that was the case, then good news for her.

There were no night shift spirits and professor Ursula was nowhere to be seen. The professor must be checking some other part of the school. Either that, or she was currently sleeping soundly back in her office, slacking off. That was highly unlikely. Shiny Chariot did _not_ slack off. Akko didn't care what anyone said, her idol was diligent and hard working.

Akko stood with her back against a wall. She beckoned Constanze over, the small witch leaving her crouched position in the shadows to lean against the wall next to her.

"Alright, this next step might look freaky, but just do _exactly_ what I do okay?"

She got an arced eyebrow in reply as well as a slow nod. Good enough.

She thought about letting Constanze go first, but decided against it. Constanze might respond and cooperate better with a show of demonstration rather than trying to convince her to do something she's never done before. "Watch closely, and just do what I do."

Akko stood facing the entrance to the Jazz Club (name still open for change), giving herself enough space for a running distance. Witch a kick, she sprinted and jumped into the wall, phasing right through.

Akko purposefully neglected to mention the pain Constanze would feel upon passing through. That was why she made a show of sprinting and leaping into the wall. So that Constanze would have to pass through quickly in an attempt to mimic her demonstration. Passing through slowly leaves the risk of Constanze being overwhelmed by the pain and just pulling back halfway through. She didn't want to give the small girl that out, as cruel as that sounded.

What Constanze didn't know won't hurt her.

…

Well it would still hurt a lot, but Constanze didn't need to know that.

Note:

 **lobby: [Constanze joined the game]**

 **lobby: [Constanze would like to join your party.]**

 **→[Y] [N]**

 **You guys wanna know something?**

 **You guys: "Fuck off, dude."**

 **oh.**

 **Lol. Anyways, I've always had this daydream where I would write a good story, get people interested...and then just give it a crappy ending. I'm not talking about making a poor attempt, I'm talking about slapping on horrible abrupt one sentence endings like "And then she died, the end." I also thought about writing a good story, and just when it's getting to the good part, I just won't update it. Instead of updating the last chapter I would just start a new story and act like the old one didn't even exist. Lol I don't know, I just wanted to tell you guys that :)**

 **Here's the fifth chapter you guys, I know, it's soooo late but I was really busy last week. As in, I had to go to parties, go other places, study for tests, and then take those tests. But if it makes you feel better this chapter was twice as long as my average chapters, so pretend like this was was two chapters that I melded into one...or something.**

 **Oh and by the way, nothing is going down in the tower..yet. Letting the shit hit the fan this early on is like rushing it, so I'm planning on letting things develop further for now. I know I apparently made it sound(?) like something was going to happen, but it was more an introduction than anything. There are other things I want to happen first.**

 **Thanks Queen Sydon, glad that my story is doing something for your interest. As for what's in the tower, well, you'll find out in due time. Though I have a feeling you're not going to like it, how do you feel about people getting maimed? Lol, I'm kidding. Maybe. There will be adventuring alright hehe.**

 **Bloke thanks for the kind words. You're probably the only one who caught on to the points I wanted to convey in this story, so good job on that. Or at least, you're the only one who pointed them out.**

 **Snapcomic that's interesting you would say that. Nothing really happened to make Akko shift to a darker personality, it's just interesting you picked up on something like that. You might be on to something though, but I won't give anything away.**

 **Garo, I know right? No one has done it yet, and it's just such a troll story. I was actually planning on writing stories with weird pairings, just to see how far I can stretch people's tolerance. Like Akko and Croix, Ursula and Diana, Amanda and Nelson, sadly I doubt I can have the time to write those. I was planning on writing them after I ran out of ideas to write a fanfic, kind of a last resort measure, you know?**

 **Erika thanks for your..enthusiasm? No one has ever written three reviews on the same chapter for me before. Thanks for that, and thank you for the compliments, I try to flesh out whatever scene I write. I actually did try to update soon but I literally can't rush this fic even if I tried. I spent 3 whole days trying to pump out words, but it just won't happen. My brain demands that I think about every single word and sentence I write before I put them down on paper. 'Thou shalt not rush, things!' I ended up frying my brain and needed to take a break.**

 **Anyways, have fun with this you guys, and I'll see you all next time.**


	6. Chapter 6

"So what's the diagnosis, Doc?"

"..." The little German remained silent, not making a sound as the bright light of the blowtorch she was using reflected against the visor of her helmet. Her tactical visor or something, okay no, that's probably not what it was.

"Hello? Earth to doc. I mean, this place, to doc? Got your ears on?"

Constanze whipped around from the construction light she was working on, lifting the visor of her mask to shoot an exasperated glare. One of her gloved hands raised with the palm tilted slightly, the universal hand gesture that asked just what the hell someone was doing. Someone annoying, don't forget that part. No doubt the small girl wanted to know just who this "doc" person was or why Akko was calling her that.

"That's you. I'm talking to you. It's just the two of us in here," As far as she knew. "Who else could I be talking to?" the glare sent her way didn't lessen. Teal eyes bore straight through her. Now that she finally got the busy girl's attention, she better explain herself adequately. At least, if Akko was reading the girl's facial expression right. Talk about anger, testyyy.

"It's just an expression sheesh. From where I'm standing you're like a doctor, someone who knows way more about something than I can even imagine. Like a patient and a doctor, the gap of knowledge between us is huge, gigantic." Akko spread her arms out wide for emphasis. She meant it too, Constanze was a genius when it comes to technology. A nickname like Doc just seemed fitting, most evil scientists tended to have that title as a surname. Her experience with many western comic books and media told her that.

It's on the internet so it must be true.

Constanze didn't seem to think so. Not if the girl's impatient expression told her anything. 'So what' she seemed to ask telepathically in Akko's mind. Constanze apparently developed an ability to accurately convey her thoughts just by looking at people. Either that, or Akko's long term exposure to the silent girl made her sort of adept at guessing what Constanze was thinking. Right down to the letter.

"Oh come on, do you see yourself right now? In that getup? Not to mention you have your own secret lab to do experiments in. So I thought it would be fitting to give you that nickname, sounds cool right?" It wasn't, if Akko was being completely honest with herself. But just because she didn't think so didn't mean other, less cool, people wouldn't. If such people even existed. "You don't mind do ya, doc? It's fine if I keep calling you that from now on, right?" The brunette smirked at how narrow the small girl's eyes became at the question.

Constanze uncrossed her arms and huffed, shaking her head firmly. She made an X with her hands.

"That's too bad, doesn't mean I'm going to stop though." After all, they were both students of the same school and on different teams. Neither one had any real authority over the other. Can't stop won't stop!

The small witch rolled her eyes, looking like she really didn't expect anything different from Akko. The little German flipped her visor back down and went back to work, ignoring her surroundings once more.

But not before Akko gets one last word in. "It'll stick, Constanze! Your new name will stick, just watch."

The small girl didn't even turn around or made any indication that she acknowledged anything of what Akko just said. Instead, the German only held out one arm and gave a thumbs up in her direction. Anyone who didn't know Constanze would probably see that as a positive gesture, but Akko knew the little girl better than that. It was one of Constanze's non verbal ticks for giving a sarcastic response. The way it was delivered, it was obvious Constanze only did it to shut her up. Akko could practically feel the other girl's eyes rolling like dice in a monopoly game.

Heh, cheeky smart aleck. Well, Constanze _was_ smart, there was no debating that. The girl could build talking robots at the age of sixteen. Still, the little genius seemed to be more standoffish than usual. Which was ridiculous when describing Constanze, who didn't talk on a regular basis. She felt so stupid just feeling the need to point it out.

Yeah, not talking to people or not talking at all does have that effect on people. What else is new? Constanze just seemed distant or aloof by default due to the girl outright refusing to speak, for whatever reason. Constanze could make sounds and grunts with her mouth, so it wasn't like she was a mute. And Akko could hazard a guess that there was still a tongue in that mouth of hers, so it wasn't that either. The small girl just didn't want to talk. Either that, or it was the work of some kind of magical curse that took away her ability to speak without actually removing her voice. Sounds like the type of thing in Disney movies or Fairy Tails.

'We are digging in the realms of fantasy here, Akko. We might wanna dial back on the crazy and get back to the real world.' Her inner voice warned. Well duh, she wasn't actually considering it. But then again, she was trying to become a witch, learning magic, in a world where dragons exist and a giant half lizard half chicken could breathe things into stone. What was more fantasy like than that?

And Diana was the heir of some kind of noble witch family in this magical world of fairies and magic. So does that make her a Disney princess? Technically it would. Should Akko expect Diana to randomly bust into a dance and singing number while having forest creatures gather around her? Maybe? Probably not, but it would be funny as hell to watch.

Well, whatever the reason, it still doesn't change the fact that Constanze was acting particularly prickly around her. Ignoring Akko's presence, refusing to acknowledge her existence. Constanze hadn't said a word since they boarded the tram, and not the literal sense of the phrase of course. The small girl hasn't...emoted(?) or something, like she normally would.

'Don't tell me she's still mad about the whole "Being tricked into jumping into a world of pain" thing back at the jazz club?' After leaping through the entrance, the small girl immediately tucked herself into a little ball in a corner. Akko spent at least fifteen minutes standing there, waiting, watching what looked like a little girl holding her head as if said girl was suffering from a severe case of dementia. It was a disturbing sight to behold, most of all because Constanze's stature made it look like a little girl was going through a mid life crisis or some type of disorder not normally found in that age group.

Akko had been going back and forth in and out of the jazz club quite the number of times, so she was relatively okay. She wasn't kidding when she told Lotte you'd get used to it. The pain was nothing more than a little lightheadedness now. The fact that Constanze went through torment while Akko was visibly right as rain probably didn't do much to get back to the small girl's good graces. It was the same reactions every time. Lotte sent glares her way when she wasn't busy actively trying to avoid hurling her guts out and Sucy looked like she was considering murder. Maybe Akko should just pretend like she was also miserable just to avoid all this temporary hate. It was amusing to look at the first few times, but she was now starting to see the hassle it could bring along with it.

"Hey, Constanze" Akko put her hand on the working girl's shoulder. "You're not still mad are you?"

No response. Well, other than her hand being roughly shaken off. That was mixed signals as far as Akko was concerned. To anyone else it would have been a sign of aggression, but that was how Constanze was when she was "in the zone". If she was still mad, then her working on something machine related worked out for Akko. Working on machines was the small witch's stress relief. It was what she did for fun, so giving her this task might be a mutual benefit. Besides, Constanze wasn't one to hold a grudge. If she was, then Akko wouldn't be here right now. She would have probably been shot and buried somewhere long before this. Back when she accidentally destroyed a stanbot and also the days following that.

Thinking back on it, it was amazing how patient the little German was when she was directly exposed and became a victim of Akko's klutziness and tendency to knock things over. To Akko's hard knock life. After messing up so much, Akko was glad all she got was imprisonment in a makeshift cell. Seeing the inventions the smaller girl makes and the weapons she keeps around, it could have been a whole lot worse.

Yes, Constanze wouldn't hold on to a grudge. She'll cool off soon enough on her own. The fact that Akko gave her a perfect way to vent her frustrations would certainly help. Though that didn't mean it was going to magically happen in the next five seconds. No matter how patient Constanze was, it takes time to clear your head. And judging by the aloofness, it hasn't been enough.

Looks like she's got some time to kill.

Akko didn't know what to do with herself during times like these. Constanze was the expert here, not her. And it's not like Akko could help either because they both know how well that turned out when Akko tries to help with the technical stuff. Also her presence wasn't really all that appreciated right now, but that was hardly Constanze's fault. Anyone would be mad after the fast one Akko just pulled on her.

The brunette sighed and leaned on one of the crates and boxes left behind by whoever was here previously. The two of them were in the room with all the abandoned lighting equipment. She had brought Constanze along with her this time to try and see if the lights could be brought back to working order. Well now that the little genius was here, Akko and her uselessness and limited knowledge of power and circuity didn't know what to do. Maybe dust herself off and stack herself on a shelf as a display item looking all pretty?

Well that, and sitting around and fiddling her thumbs was always an option. A crappy option, but still an option. Attempting to help with the work was out of the question, for obvious reasons. The urge to leave or walk around or even venture deeper into the chasm to explore was a tempting one, but it would be rude to just leave Constanze here on her own just so Akko could go gallivanting further away.

Wasn't it proper social etiquette to not abandon your companion in an unfamiliar environment? Diana would have words. Hold on, who was she to talk about social etiquette? Akko didn't have much to brag about when it came to socializing. She was a social person sure, she could talk people's ear off easily, but being outgoing and going to clubs or parties was another matter. Just about the most social thing she's done in the past was buying and playing magic cards with the other neighborhood kids. Akko was a huge Shiny Chariot nerd, her entire childhood was centered around this very moment of attending Luna Nova to further fulfill the next step of her dream.

Her newfound friends didn't make things better. Lotte was bullied as a child by the other kids and seeked refuge, holing herself up with her books. Sucy was just crazy whose past was an enigma. Amanda is a delinquent, about the best advice she'll give was "Do what you want, nothing else matters than that." Constanze built her own friends, and Akko had half a mind to think Jasminka might actually prioritize food over human beings.

Of all her friends, Diana was probably the most social. What would she say right about now?

' _Honestly, Akko. It is only common sense that you stay close to your charge. As the one who invited her here, you are acting as the chaperone. It's your obligation, your duty, to ensure that your partner does not feel out of place or cast aside.'_ her inner Diana lectured.

Yep, probably something high strung like that. Make sure she doesn't feel cast aside huh? So basically don't leave her to fend for herself. Fend for herself against _what_ though? Vast feelings of loneliness and isolation? Because that was all there was to feel here in feels-town. There was nothing here. No people, no party, no crowd to feel an outcast from. And excuse me, didn't Constanze build a complex tunnel system under her dorm just to have a secret private workshop away from her team? Yeah, Constanze would _totally_ be crying tears of loneliness without Akko around. If akko rolled her eyes any harder they would make a full one eighty degree turn in their sockets and see her brain.

Argh. This all felt super awkward. 'Should I stay or should I go?' If she goes there will be trouble. Maybe. Well, she's not getting anything done hovering around Constanze, might as well roam around. Constanze would probably thank her for it anyway, for leaving her alone to work in peace...or something.

"Hey Constanze, I'm just gonna go somewhere. Just holler if you need anything." Akko facepalmed. Did she really just say that? 'Just holler'? Open mouth, insert foot. This was Constanze, Constanze did _not_ "holler".

The little witch speed walked away before she could make a bigger fool of herself. Real smooth Akko, just how out of touch can someone be? And they only just got here. Akko sighed. Something tells her this was going to be a long night.

/-/

There once was a fearsome creature that stalked the old dirt road. The road was twisted and windy, with dense trees on both sides. Anyone who entered the old dirt road didn't come out the other side and was never heard from again. The people in the city soon grew fearful as bits and pieces of flesh and bone were discovered. Many attempted to confront the rumors. They all disappeared too. Search parties were sent for the previous search parties and soon enough the road was deemed too dangerous to be tread upon and the people became frantic. All but a young girl was afraid, she had hopes and dreams and ambitions that could rival her fear. She saw the people become burdened and distraught, so she was going to help. She went outside to the old dirt road, but instead of trying to hurt the monster, she was going to try and convince it using words.

"It's not okay to kill people, you know." The small girl said.

The creature only stared. "A foolish little girl lectures me? You are nothing, just like the ones who confronted me before you."

The monster wouldn't listen, but she wasn't going to give up. She tried once more to talk to the beast. Even more determined than before.

The monster grew angry. "Silence! Your insolence is grating, I will kill you and eat you!" The creature struck, killing the girl in one quick motion.

Akko turned the page. It was blank.

"WHAT?!" That was it?! _That_ was the end of the story? "What kind of ending is this!" The little witch frantically turned the next page, and the next, and the next, and the next. The rest of the book was blank. It looked like the next few pages of the last page that she read were ripped off and the ones following them were blank. So either the story wasn't finished, or someone cruelly ripped the other half of the story. Why would they do that? Now she will never know how the story ends! Or what happens to the girl.

'I don't care what anyone says, that girl's story doesn't end there. She must have been revived, or the narration was trying to trick me, or _something._ It has to have a happy ending. It _has_ to.' She will write the remaining part of the story if needs be. No one leaves Atsuko Kagari hanging in a story she invested in and gets away with it.

Akko set the book down and fiddled around with her little rubix cube map, pressing the button and turning it on just to see it glow and hum in the darkness that surrounded them. She threw it in the air and caught it, slightly entertained at the sight of a small glowing thing sailing through the dark. Like a shooting star, or that comet that appears once every three years. What was the name of that comet again? Simoa, Simmulator, simbabwe? She can't remember. Whatever it was, it started with a "Sim". Sim something. She should really pay attention to Professor Finneran's lectures more…

It was still just as dark as it was the first time she got here. About the only source of light were from her wand- which she tied to one of the metal rods laying around among the other discarded debris- and planted it like a flag, creating a makeshift tiny street light. As well as Constanze's headlamp, and the barest sliver of light from the tram they left far back. Constanze's blowtorch could technically count count as a light, the intense heat of the flame crackling and sparking against a metal surface. The sparks shifted and danced, creating shadows that seemed to pulsate against the walls. Like a campfire, the only sounds to hear were the shearing of flame on metal as well as her own heartbeat. It was that quiet. So unnaturally quiet. Normally there would at least be some form of sound at night, wherever you could be. The sounds of an air conditioner, the sound of crickets chirping outside, the whistling of the wind, the groaning of a house as it settles, the slow and steady dripping of a faucet, something.

Aside from the noises she herself was making and the sound of the blowtorch, there was nothing. Akko paused, not moving, listening to her surroundings. Besides from Constanze's welding on the other side of the wide open hall, there was nothing making even a bit of a commotion.

Not a single one.

When she first got here she thought the silence was strange and kind of creepy, in the lightest sense of the term mind you. A passing feeling that was superficial, not real or serious in any way. Like how kids feel when they go inside a dark room of their own house. It's their own house, they don't have a reason to be afraid of it just because it's dark but they are creeped out anyways.

 _That_ kind of creepy feeling.

Now that she's had time to actually think however, the silence was beginning to be a little more..unnerving. Like something was off, wrong. The kind of feeling you get when you hear scratches at your door when you live alone. Akko _felt_ there was actually something out here that was giving off bad vibes and making her feel vulnerable. The nervous feeling from before now felt heavier, and much more real. This wasn't something that could be written off as mere nerves or a wild imagination anymore.

The silence that engulfed them was almost deafening. This kind of ambience was unusual. It was the kind of silence one would expect in a completely sound proof room and this place, Akko looked around, was _far_ from being sound proof.

This whole area felt dead. That was the best way she could describe it. A dead space where light and sound seemed to be muffled. Or actively suppressed. Akko didn't know how that would even be possible, but she will never really know with this strange big world of magic. A little worm of doubt was wiggling inside her mind. Maybe magic really isn't all bright lights and flashes. Magic wasn't all pure and good, that much was obvious. Croix and her little project showed her at least that much. But Croix was harnessing the negative emotions of people, specifically their anger. This felt deeper than that. Maybe there existed a more sinister and ominous magic lurking somewhere?

A shiver ran down her spine. A cold chill suddenly ran up her body, but just as quickly disappeared. Why is she feeling cold? There was no wind In here, why would there be? They were indoors and still underground.

Two things that the little witch learned about being underground when she visited the Natural Bridge Caverns tourist attraction was that one, limestone had a distinct smell, and two, that there was no wind to be felt when you were at least a hundred feet below ground with no openings. Not even a slightest breeze.

Logically speaking, there shouldn't be wind down here either. There were no doors, no windows, no hatches, no openings of any kind to let a single draft enter their spacious abode. Yet despite all that Akko swears she felt the temperature drop ever so slightly. Like a wind chill, cold air passed right through her.

The brunette set her little rubix cube aside and opened and closed her hands, flexing her fingers. Her fingers which were now stiff and kind of hard to move, unyielding. Her hands still felt cold, the mere fact confirming that the sudden chill wasn't just her imagination. It was affecting her body in a very much real way. At least, her body seemed to respond to it like it was. The question was, was she the only one being affected? She could be suffering from some kind of delusion or hallucination or something. Her body making her feel things that weren't actually real.

Red eyes moved to Constanze, the little witch checking on the only other person in the room. Her little partner in crime was still the same as she always was ever since they got here. Still doing her business, busy doing work like the workaholic she was. If Constanze felt the same coldness Akko had, then she didn't show it. And even if she did feel it, Constanze was holding a freaking blowtorch literally right in front of her face. She might not even be able to feel anything peculiar with a heat source so close to her body.

Akko released a breath, giving up on trying to use her companion as a reference point. Constanze was utterly unreliable at providing further context clues for Akko to figure out via troubleshooting. So whether or not the sudden drop in temperature was real or Akko's delusion was still in the air. And will probably stay in the air for quite some time, maybe forever. Who knows.

'Get used to it, you'll still be coming here regularly. This doesn't change anything. A little spookiness isn't going to stop you from working on your dreams, is it?' Of course it won't. If anything, it's just another hurdle she has to go through. A person grows by overcoming obstacles and learning from them. The things they go through shape them into who they are. A person who's never struggled is like a blank slate. The same as they were when they were created.

Akko would like to think that she's grown a lot from the girl she was on her first day in Luna Nova. She's definitely been through plenty to warrant some growth. Even though it feels like her magic abilities haven't changed much. She just had to be patient, and hard working. Diana and Professor Ursula said the effects of the Dream fuel spirit can be overcome. But how much longer does Akko have to be patient? How much work does Akko need to do in order for her breakthrough to happen when she's already been working harder than she ever has? Sometimes harder than her body's limit?

Will it take a couple of years, like Diana? Or will it take a decade? Two? Her entire life? And was Akko's dedication and hard work enough? Constantly they tell her that she just needs to work hard, but not exactly just _how_ hard. Did she need to consistently work until she passes out everyday, or did she merely have to practice for a set amount of hours every day? One of Akko's greatest fears and doubts was that her rigorous regiment was not enough. Maybe she needed to really overclock her body in order to break her limits. Maybe she needed to practice more than the hours the average person spends being awake. What if she needed to practice, not five or even ten hours everyday, but sixteen or twenty hours everyday? What if _that_ was the amount of work needed to be put out in order for her to succeed? Dedicating sixteen hours in a day just for practice was already clearly not possible or even should be sought for. If she ignored the obvious hours she spends in school, the hours studying, and the hours she would use to sleep. It would not be plausible or reasonable.

But the dream fuel spirit probably wouldn't care about what Akko finds possible. It wasn't even a sentient being. What if the flat amount of hours needed was beyond what Akko could give? Beyond the time of Akko's lifespan? What if she needed to practice for one million hours? She wouldn't be able to give that. So was this all just a hopeless endeavor?

Akko didn't know, and hoped her worst fears weren't true. She just had to keep trying with what she can. Just had to keep trying with what works and hope that it was enough.

The little witch pried her eyes away, letting them roam around the spacey hall that they loitered in. Her eyes scanned the bookshelves, the walls, the equipment, and eventually settled to the corridor leading further inwards. Towards the direction where she would eventually have to traverse through after this.

There was something oddly...compelling about it. Akko made her way to the passage on the far side of the hall, standing in front of what seemed to be a hallway leading to nothing. The light behind her not strong enough or close enough to illuminate anything beyond what was immediately in front of her. The way it was laid out in front of her. So open, so...inviting. Like it was beckoning her closer, pleading for Akko to take the step. The cold feeling from before came back, but this time it felt soothing. Instead of a cold chill it was more akin to the pleasant feeling of an air conditioned building on a hot and humid day. Instantly her previous doubts and concerns clouding her mind vanished, and her shoulders relaxed. The little witch let the sweet cool sensation wrap itself around her body, reveling in the pleasant comfort it provided.

A blissful moan escaped her lips, her eyes closing as she focused on her other senses being filled with insurmountable pleasure and relaxation. She didn't hear anything, no banging of tools, no roar of flame, or any other sound from Constanze's arsenal. There was nothing, just the feelings of pure bliss coating her body.

This. This was heaven.

The cool feeling coiling around her body was pulling her deeper inside, leading her towards the wall of darkness. Naturally, her body followed. Whatever this feeling was, she wasn't about to lose it. It was like the best massage she ever had. She could feel the pleasant feeling seeping away from her, going through her body towards the direction in front of her, deeper inside the dark hallway. She moved forwards automatically to try and catch up. To try and regain the feeling again. But it felt it was trying to keep itself at a distance, being dangled tantalizingly in front of her. She was _so_ close! Akko was ways deep into the dark corridor now, but it still wasn't enough. If she could just move a few more-

Something grabbed the back of her uniform. The unknown appendage gripped her uniform and pulled fiercely, wrenching her whole body back. Instantly the blissful sensation vanished, leaving her body feeling even colder than it was the first time she felt the anomalous chill.

What..was that?

A fierce blinding light spilled from behind her. What the..?

"Constanze?"

The little German was behind her, one of her gloved hands gripped the back of Akko's uniform. The other was levelling her gun forwards past Akko and towards the hallway she would've wandered down in. Blinding white light beamed from the flashlight mount the silent girl had apparently installed on her gun. Well, at least now she knows just what gave her the unruly jerk backwards. Constanze could've been a bit more gentle, but it seemed to snap Akko out of her little "daze" so she was grateful for at least that much. Who knows what would've happened if Constanze hadn't stopped her from stumbling around in complete blackness without her wand to help her see.

Akko cursed internally to herself. "What the hell was _that_ , Akko? Wandering around in a place you've never been before without your wand or a slightest hint of self awareness? You're such an idiot and a moron, who does that? People who get themselves killed, that's who. Fleas have more common sense than you.' Akko tossed her head aside, expression hard as stone and eyes burning with anger intense enough to melt steel. The sharp words she berated herself with were harsh, but it was all true. The fact that she couldn't deny them only amplified her bitterness and anger. Except this was an anger directed entirely inwards, at herself. She was angry at herself for doing something so utterly stupid as to walk unguarded because of a "good feeling". Even Amanda, who was passionate about doing whatever feels right, probably would have more restraint than to completely lose her senses because it felt nice. Such an idiotic mistake. Way to go, Akko. Here she was, trying to better herself, improve herself, and to prove everyone wrong about her being an incompetent fool only to do the exact opposite and prove them right.

'I thought you were done with being a hopeless idiot with no common sense? Guess you really can't teach an old dog new tricks.' Akko snarled upon thinking the words. Upon hearing them being said in her mind in such a cruel and scathing tone that it would make Hannah and Barbara's taunts sound like a baby's soft gentle cooing. All of it once again being true, and once again feeding the flame.

...

A few gritted teeth almost cracking and clenched fists choking out the circulation in her hands later, and Akko was almost somewhat calm. She closed her eyes, taking great gulps of air to calm the raging tempest. Lest her anger starts showing itself in her words and actions, attacking whatever or whoever was in the vicinity, it being Constanze. The small girl had nothing to do with it, she didn't deserve being targeted by her anger's transference simply by just being there at the time. The last thing she needed was to start harassing the only other person here and making things uncomfortable for the both of them.

The brunette shook the last vestiges of frustration and turned to the still wary German girl next to her. Constanze had let go of her uniform upon knowing that Akko wasn't going further in. Both of the small girl's hands were now bracing the weapon she was holding, the flashlight attachment shining the spot where Constanze was looking.

Which was at nothing.

At least, from what Akko could see. Did Constanze see something in the dark Akko hadn't or something? What the heck was she staring at so intently?

"Constanze, something the matter? Did you see something?" She _must_ have, because Akko can't see squat. Whatever it was that got Constanze in such a guarded state escaped Akko's notice. No wonder, considering Akko had spaced out literally moments ago during that weird little episode she had. Not noticing things seemed to be the highlight of today's adventure, Akko snarked to herself. Oh, she wouldn't be forgetting this lesson anytime soon.

The little German didn't say anything, one finger pointed down the hall, her other arm still leveling her gun and flashlight steady. So Constanze wanted to show her something, problem was, it didn't change what Akko clearly saw. Which was, surprise, still nothing. Pointing at something didn't magically make things appear, and Constanze not saying exactly _what_ it was Akko was supposed to see or look for definitely wasn't helping.

The little witch shook her head and narrowed her eyes, trying to spot any difference from what she could plainly see. Because apparently there was something there she just wasn't seeing, according to Constanze. At least, there better be. If this was Constanze pulling her leg as revenge then there will be consequences. She was not in the mood for any shenanigans. Some degree of negativity still lingered in her mood apparently. She was grumpy at best though. Compared to the initial mounting rage she felt at her lapse of judgment, it was minuscule. Minuscule but still very much present.

…

Yeeaaah no. Still nothing. Akko gave up, shooting her armed companion an exasperated look.

'What the hell are you talking about?' Akko tried to convey telepathically.

The little German raised an eyebrow as if asking her if she finally saw it.

The brunette gave a flat stare back. 'No, I have _not_ seen whatever it is you're trying to show me.' Akko hoped her facial expression was enough to drill the words into the other girl's brain. She didn't know why she was all of a sudden trying to "speak Constanze's language" but she was, and it was happening. Maybe she was tired of talking, maybe she wanted to test just how far they could take this "no talking to each other, just talking" thing could go, who knows. Ako just felt like it really.

Constanze looked at her from the corner of her eye and nodded her head to where she pointed at earlier. 'look again.'She shot a stern glare ' _closel_ _y.'_ With Constanze's body language and expressions the words might as well have been written on her face.

Ugh.

 _Look again_ she says. _Look closely_ she says. er...or thought, whatever. No matter how hard she looked, it's still the same. If Constanze could apparently see it clear as day maybe it would help to try and see things from her perspective. As in, standing where Constanze was and looking from her point of view. she'll try anything at this point.

The little witch pressed her cheek next to Constanze's own, looking down the sights of the gun. The little German squirmed at the close contact, but otherwise remained still. Almost immediately Akko could see exactly what it was she was missing. At first glance there was nothing, but upon closer inspection she could see multiple shimmering lines littering the hallway. Akko could see the lines reflecting Constanze's flashlight, all of them spread low close to the ground near knee level. She must not have been able to see them at first due to the odd angle.

The two of them shared a look.

"Well," Akko stood up straight. "I see _something_ alright." It only took Akko longer than it should have and an eternity to think up such a relatively simple solution, but in this business she'll take what she can get. She could only thank the stars above that Sucy wasn't here right now, she didn't even want to imagine the shit eating grin her sadistic friend would be sporting at the idiotic spectacle Akko was making of herself tonight.

Constanze walked to the closest shimmering line. It looked like a single string of a spider's web reflecting against the sunlight. Maybe that's what these shining lights were, spider webs left behind by wandering hunting spiders or something. Akko very much doubted her own rationalization. She wasn't an expert on arachnids, but she was pretty sure most spiders preferred places with light. Not for themselves of course as they are nocturnal, but light for the insects they feed on. And while cave spiders do exist, Akko wasn't sure that this place would be very accommodating, even for them. This place sure as heck isn't a cave, and it was devoid of life. It's not like this underground metro had a thriving ecosystem of it's own for any spider to be a part of. What would they even eat if there were no insects around, the posters on the wall?

She could be wrong though. This _was_ a world of magic. These could be magic spiders for all she knew.

Magic spiders.

What the f- why did she have to go there? Now she was imagining giant spiders the size of dogs with a set of human teeth who lay eggs in their victims and-

'Okay, no. enough of that, I'm gonna have to stop you right there.' Trust her mind to immediately conjure horrifying images at every opportunity. Well Sucy did say this place was off limits, maybe there was a good reason for that. Reasons like giant man eating spiders- 'Seriously. Stop. Don't make me lobotomize you up there. I _will_ do it.'

Akko shook off those evil thoughts. Magic spiders. It all reminded her of Lotte's crazy ranting about how she supposedly saw a "giant hostile cockroach" back when Akko led the three of them through the crawl space. Said it was the reason why she screamed and ran, nearly blowing their cover. Akko _did_ think it was odd that Lotte just went and freaked out like that, and a violent reaction to creepy crawlies might actually have filled in the blanks nicely. But still, it sounded like an excuse. Neither Akko nor Sucy saw any kind of cockroach, especially not the size that Lotte described. Then again, Akko was too busy at the time trying to even remember where she was going to pay much attention. And Sucy openly admitted that she was half awake half asleep to notice anything odd. Maybe it was better to chalk it up to Lotte going crazy, for Akko's sake.

Constanze finished analyzing the "web", her finger touched the line going along the length. She flicked it like a guitar string. It didn't break or even move. So it wasn't a web because a web would have definitely broken from the pressure Constanze was pulling. It was too thin to possibly be made to stop anything. Judging by how stiff it was running across the floor, it didn't leave much room for bending or elasticity. This "string" was both strong enough to not be a measly web but too weak to be a part of a series of fence wires to act as a reliable barrier. This thing was made for something else entirely.

It was a trip wire.

Apparently Constanze came to the same conclusion. The German girl followed the string to where it connected to the wall and sure enough it was joined to a small box of some kind hastily drilled to the wall. Constanze looked up at Akko, the same stern expression telling her exactly what the genius thought about such a shoddily done trap.

"I know, whoever left this here was in a rush. If it weren't so dark in here anyone would have spotted this a mile away." Left unsaid was how close Akko was to triggering it. In her defense, the darkness here pretty much speaks for itself. Nobody would have been able to see it if they were in her shoes. Besides, how was she supposed to know people would leave booby traps here? wasn't this a school? Why would a school be leaving traps around?

Well, she suppose it didn't matter how unexpected it was, Akko would have seen the traps if she had her wand to guide her and was paying even the slightest attention to her surroundings. Instead, she chased a fleeting feeling into the unknown and could have activated a trip mine for all that she knew. She would have died before she knew what killed her. Assuming it was a trip mine of course. There were three possibilities. That trip wire was there to make people trip, or it was there to raise an alarm, or it was there to activate a trap of some kind. Like an explosion, or flying knives, or a net/cage, or a giant boulder to run away from Indiana Jones style.

Whatever the case, the third possibility was bad news bears. And one possibility that should be avoided at all costs. 'I hope those wires are just harmless little noise makers or something.' She really didn't want to have to deal with debugging this entire area of all traps or sort out the safe tripwires from the deadly ones. Worst case scenario she would actually have to _activate_ all of them just to save herself the trouble of avoiding them in the future. Not just for herself, but for anyone that tags along with her like Lotte and Sucy. After all, it was safer to just activate or get rid of them all right now instead of leaving them there. Leaving them alone adds the risk of Akko forgetting about them in the future and _someone_ will pay for it. Whether it be herself for forgetting or someone else that didn't know about the trap Akko lazily left behind.

No way in hell she was about to be responsible for any injuries. Or death.

Constanze drilled the lid off the box embedded to the wall, revealing a mess of wires as well as...were those grenades? Among the tangle of wires was a bundle of hand grenades, about six of them all tied together. Akko grimaced, the hairs on the back of her neck standing up on end as her whole body tensed. They looked so real. There was something unnerving about seeing an actual live destructive weapon in person. Even more so when it was left here with full intention to explode on unknowing passerby's. This painted a pretty damning picture about the kind of people that were here before her. Planting grenades and setting up dangerous traps near a school? What were they, psychos? They really didn't want other people getting in there, why else would people set up traps? Was it to protect some kind of valuable resource? A treasure? If it was, why didn't they take it _with them_ when they left? It makes no sense why they would leave it there and just set a bunch of traps protecting it. That logic wasn't making any sense.

'Those traps work both ways, it could be left there to stop someone...or some _ **thing**_ from getting _out_.' Akko involuntarily shuddered at her own deduction. Was there something in there so dangerous to warrant several explosive trip mines? Wouldn't the school know something about that?

 _Its a monumental tower that was built and used long before Luna Nova itself…_

 _...The tower was already abandoned and unused by the time Luna Nova was established. Left forgotten and decrepit but still remaining strong enough to keep standing._

Sucy's voice echoed in her head, her words about the tower replaying in Akko's mind. Come to think of it, none of them really knows what was in this tower. Just the stuff they heard about or learned in the brief summary in their history books. Akko brushed it off when she first heard about it, she was more focused on the "magic enhancing" aspect of the tower to really be concerned about the other implications of such a limited knowledge about the structure. Why didn't their history book go into much detail about the tower? Akko chalked it up to them not knowing much about the tower, but if that was the case, why didn't they _try_ to learn more? Instead of just burying it or sweeping it under the rug as some kind of mystery unsolved? Being under the school's jurisdiction, the school had every freedom and opportunity to explore and study. They should already know every nook and cranny of this place, instead of the blanket information they had.

And the fact that this tower was built so long ago. Already abandoned before Luna Nova was established? That was ancient. Those times were shrouded in mystery as it would be difficult to recover any recorded history. Which just seemed to highlight one question that was previously unimportant but now seemed haunting.

Why was it abandoned? Such a magnificent construct that was _still_ standing tall and imposing to this day, just left behind? To build such a great structure that could last so long, it had to have a pretty important purpose or significance. People didn't just build the pyramids on a whim. Whatever reason they built this thing, it was pretty damn important that they do so. And it's sheer size, height, and structural integrity only reflected the scale of it's importance.

Akko shook her head. This was all starting to sound very complicated and ominous. Maybe she was thinking too hard on this, maybe she was just overthinking it and making a conclusion that wasn't there based on loosely interconnected coincidences. Akko wasn't one to make a chicken out of a feather, she tended to take things at face value. 'I am not paid enough for this.' This was above her pay grade, if she had one. Maybe she'll just leave it to Diana or Lotte to do the hard thinking and conspiracy theories. She needed to focus on the here and now, worry about all that other stuff later.

In stark contrast with this ordeal, Constanze's eyes lit up like stars when she saw the fruit looking explosives. The way they were designed, it reminded Akko of a pineapple. And it was these pineapples that had the small girl almost drooling as she stared at the assortment of deadly weapons with a predatory lust.

Sheesh. Constanze was acting like Sucy would towards poisons and mushrooms. Did all of them sport some weird obsessive passion? It seems so. Sucy with her mushrooms, Lotte with Night Fall, herself with Shiny Chariot, Amanda with flying, Jasminka with food, and Constanze...with robots and lasers apparently. Akko was pretty sure that Constanze was going to build a panzer tank somewhere in the future.

"So," Akko began conversationally. "You don't happen to know how to disarm these, do you?" Did she really even have to ask? This was Constanze, she can do anything.

The little German nodded her head eagerly. A little _too_ eagerly. This was probably the most excited Akko has seen the silent girl in a while. Well it's nice to know what really makes her friend happy. Now Akko has an idea on what to get Constanze for Christmas as well as any future birthdays. You learn something new everyday.

Akko looked at the other tripwires that littered the hall. The good news was there were only a dozen or so. A dozen might sound a lot but considering how wide and long this hallway was, they could have easily fit at least twice as more. The bad news was leaving the disarming up to only Constanze was A, rude. And B, would take too long. Akko was going to help out this time, whether either of them liked it or not. Besides, Akko could learn herself how to do it step by step. And who better to teach her how to defuse a freaking _bomb_ other than the tech genius herself, Constanze, AKA Doc.

A wry smile grew on her lips. "Hey Cons, you think you could show me how you would go about dismantling these bombs? I'll let you do whatever you want with them afterwards." If Akko could trust Sucy to do those ungodly experiments on her body, she could trust Constanze with military grade weapons. The little witch wouldn't know what to do with them anyways, better to give it to someone infinitely more qualified with handling weapons. And clearly more eager to play with them by the looks of it. If Constanze had a tail, it would be waggling back and forth uncontrollably.

The brunette didn't even need to read Constanze's mind or body language, the look on the shorter girl's eyes gave her all the answers she needed. Akko extended an arm out, her crimson eyes glinting and confident smile growing as a gloved hand grasped it. The two of them shook hands, both of them wearing determined smirks that looked a little too nefarious.

"Glad we could see eye to eye, Doc."

 **Note:**

 **I'm ALIIIIIIVEEEEE! Did you guys think I was dead? Lol. Sorry I haven't updated in a while, the last few weeks were right before finals week. Meaning I was busy tying up all of my loose ends and getting every single homework or school assignments turned in. The next week I was busy studying for the finals of all of my subjects. And the next week after that were the actual finals themselves so I wasn't out of the woods yet. It was only last Wednesday(Yesterday, but for some it might be 2 or 3 days ago by now.) that I was actually free of any duties or school work. So yeah.**

 **Tldr version; I was busy with Finals.**

 **One of you reviewers once told me that you'd eagerly wait for these chapters even if they were monthly updates. When I first read that I was like "eeeh, that's a little...extreme. don't you think?" I mean, monthly updates? What monster would do such a thing? I was instantly reminded of the many other stories that I really liked reading on fanfiction that follow that exact update schedule and I swore not to become those people. Well I checked on my story's progress and saw that I only had one chapter out for the entire month of November. And now Look at me, four weeks has passed since the last update and I finally get a chapter out. One month is approximately four weeks and I failed.**

 **Cue Obi Wan Kenobi: "It was said you were to destroy the Sith not join them!"  
**

 **Anyways, I tried to make this chapter long to make up for it. It's kinda long, but not exactly twice as long as my regular chapters like last time.**

 **Of course I would know what your name means 2000, I was part of that fan base at the end of 2012. There are a lot of stories that I left behind there, one of which was Gumball being stuck in an infinite loop, Redoing the same day over and over. I enjoyed reading that one. I wonder if they've updated while I was gone.**

 **Porsupuesto you would be exactly right about that reference. You're the first one to actually point it out, didn't think anyone would get it though. As for the romance part, you're not the first one to mention how they're looking forward to it. Albeit your reaction was the best one I've seen so far. No need to worry though, while I enjoy a good trolling once in a while(alot), I wouldn't lie about something like this. If I say there's romance, then I will give romance. Doing otherwise and not giving it would be a dick move. I will try to not be a dick.**

 **Also, regarding the tags. I wasn't really thinking much about the tags that much. All I knew was that there was going to be some romance with Diana. Many reviewers have told me this story has a pretty good amount of adventure in it, so apparently it now has the adventure tag in there. I did not intend for it to have that element, but hey, I'll roll with it. And the fantasy tag was solely just because LWA has magic and withcraft in it. By default that automatically makes it a fantasy, right?**

 **So romance with diana: check**

 **story with magic and witchcraft=fantasy: check**

 **that was literally my thought process when I added those tags lol.**

 **Aameidas, the very first reviewer I had. I'm surprised you're still here. This story has gone so far out of tangent, I don't think it even resembles the type of story it was in it's first chapter. Figured all of my original readers had left already at the change in the story's tone and well...lack of angst and depression found in the first one. I'm glad I was wrong though, good to see some people still sticking with this story.**

 **Jamame thanks for liking my writing style. I hear that a lot, that my Akko was the most introspective they've seen. Really I'm just writing down their thoughts as if they were my own. I mean, isn't that the point of monologues? isn't that what monologues and inner thoughts _are_? Basically it would be like you guys writing your reviews, You all could do the same if you just wrote your characters thoughts and words like you would when you're trying to convey your thoughts and words in your reviews. It makes them sound human, makes them sound real. At least, that's what I've been told in my reviews. Who knows, maybe they were wrong, maybe I just suck and everyone just says I don't. I don't really know for sure, since it depends on what the reader likes. And people's standards tend to be all over the place.**

 **As for you wondering how Diana is going to tie into the story, don't worry. She will, I already know how I'm going to introduce her. I've got a plan and everything. it's just a matter of getting there.**

 **I mean, Diana is the only other character that has a tag in this story and she hasn't made a single appearance in five chapters. _Five freaking chapters_. LOL. The main heroine has not shown up in five chapters. What the hell. Characters that don't even have a tag like Ursula, Lotte, Sucy, Constanze, Amanda, and even Professor Badcock have more screen time than Diana.**

 **I assure you all, it was not on purpose. I'm not hiding Diana away from all of you. When I first conceived this plot I intended for Diana to show up within chapter 3 or 4, but when I was actually working on these chapters and actually developing the plot and the events and the character's feelings/interactions, things kinda...grew on their own. Me having to add more and more things that were necessary, but not what I originally thought would be there. It just...happened.**

 **Yoyo T bone, the cream of the crop huh? Thanks for the compliment, but I've personally found a bunch of stories that were really good. If you look far back the second story this show has under it's belt is pretty good, it hasn't been updated in four years though which is sad. But its really well written, makes me jealous I can't write like that. The character interactions are so freaking good. You are right about the small fic hell thing though. Lwa has existed since 2013, it's pretty old so I thought it would have more than this. Well at least the anime is pulling in new fans, and possibly new writers and new stories. And since the anime is pretty new with a possibility of future seasons, it's popularity will continue to grow for the next few years I would predict. There's only one way to go but up.**

 **Also a bit of fun fact, when the witches ride their brooms they're not saying tia freyre. they're actually saying "Tear Flair". It's just their accents trying to say English words makes it sound like that. If you read the manga you would see this, I only just found out about it myself recently. And by recently I mean 2 or 3 weeks ago, when I read the manga.**

 **I spent almost an entire day typing this out. The people that write 20k words per chapter are monsters. How do they do that? The amount of typing is monstrous, dear goodness. Anyways, sorry for the delay. it's not exactly 2x longer than my average chapters but it has a couple thousand more words in it than usual, hope you guys enjoyed it and I will see you guys later. Merry Christmas to you all early.**


	7. Chapter 7

Lotte wasn't one to sweat the small stuff. Okay maybe she was, but not to the extend that Akko and Sucy made it sound. Contrary to what everyone apparently believed, she wasn't going to start sweating bullets at the smallest infraction or lose her composure when "Shit hits the fan" as Akko would put it. If Lotte was even half as jumpy or anxious as her teammates believe her to be, she wouldn't even function as a human being on a day to day basis.

Fighting off a cockatrice, chasing after a missile, encountering massive hell spawns in dirty crawl spaces, they all would send anyone's heart rate through the roof. Who wouldn't be stressed in that situation? It takes incredible mental fortitude to be able to be in a group with those two, the number of times she face palmed at Akko's obliviousness in the past alone was probably in the powers of ten.

The fact that Sucy willingly indulges Akko in her insanity and shameless disregard to the rules only made it worse. Seriously, Akko asks a question while they were being lectured and Sucy knowingly uses Akko's scatterbrained attention span and the two start chit chatting right in front of a professor. Lotte knows for a fact that Sucy knows better, she just didn't care. Opting to throw wood in the Akko shaped fire just to push the limit of how far their audacity could go. And probably see how far they could get away with.

At least Akko was genuine with her ignorance, Sucy sometimes just pretends to be ignorant. Pretends like she didn't know better to justify her evil imp like behavior. Lotte was willing to bet Sucy did half of the things she does just for their entertainment value and the other half out of curiosity. Akko just happened to fulfill both of those agendas, making their poor leader the constant target for Sucy's fancy, as horrible as that sounded.

Poor Akko was chosen as the perfect victim and test subject. Lotte _would_ try and intervene, but technically a Sucy pointed in another direction was a Sucy she didn't have to deal with. And Lotte very much rather things stay that way. Hang in there, Akko!

If anything, Lotte was the normal one here. It wasn't that she fretted and worried about the smallest thing, it was that her two teammates weren't fretting enough. Her two friends were too blasé and nonchalant. Any normal student would be cowed under the glare of Professor Finnelan, but those two could take it like it was harmless bubbles fluttering and floating in the air. Much to the teacher's annoyance. Lotte would find it all highly amusing if she wasn't thrown into the mix as well.

'Just another side effect of being in Red Team I guess.' Being in league with Akko and Sucy led to many disciplinary punishments. This new trend in her life was strange, she couldn't say she expected this. A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one.

...

What? A welcome one? No. She wouldn't go that far. It wasn't welcome, but it wasn't as bad as she first thought it would be. When they get punished, they got punished as a team. They were in it together. That made all the difference in the world, it sure is a lot better than going through a tough spot alone.

A ghost of a smile crept on the edges of her lips. It may not be what she expected, it may not be the ideal school life she thought, but she couldn't say she regretted the way things turned out. She was supposed to be a good girl, a girl on a team that did everything by the rules. A team whose biggest infraction was skipping a class or two and certainly not the heart racing high jinks Akko's harebrained schemes got them through. She was glad she was wrong, Lotte has gotten used to their misadventures and dare say has started enjoying herself. At least when she wasn't scared for her life, but even that was part of the thrill and excitement that made it all worth while. They all had a good time in the end. It was hard to imagine life in Luna Nova without Akko and her antics.

It was the reason why it affected her so much when Akko went missing. Why she was so affected at the idea of Akko quitting school and not coming back. Akko had made a lasting impression on her and her life as she knew it, so the thought of her lively leader suddenly disappearing from them impacted her greatly.

Just vanishing from their lives without so much as a goodbye? That was too abrupt. It was unacceptable. Lotte won't allow it, won't allow them to part in such terrible terms. The first incident shook her up badly, her heart wouldn't be able to it a second time.

Lotte shook her head, determination pooling behind the rims of her glasses. She was going to go through with this. The others might call her a worry wart, but to Lotte this was genuine cause for concern. Stepping out of the little eavesdropping corner she'd been hiding in, the orange haired girl made her way to the subject of her thoughts and troubles. She cleared her throat. "Akko."

"Uwah! Who- Lotte?" The brown haired girl rubbed her eyes. "What is it? Wait-no, what are you doing here? weren't you sleeping?"

Lotte's newfound determination quickly melted at her leader's curious gaze. Gosh, their position right now made her feel like a little kid being asked by their parents why she was still awake so late at night. Why was she feeling that way? It was just Akko, they were the same age. Pull yourself together, Lotte! "How long have you been staying here?" Lotte ignored the incriminating question in favor of throwing one of her own.

The two of them were currently in the library. Akko had took off to study shortly after dinner and hasn't returned since. Imagine her surprise when Lotte woke up in the middle of the night to see Akko's bed empty. Lotte took it upon herself to drag herself to the library to check if Akko was still studying after all that time. And Lo and Behold, her leader was sitting on one of the tables with a book set in front of her. One would think that Akko studying was an odd sight to see, but her leader proved more than once in the past that she could be studious and hard working if she wanted to. But recently it seemed like it was _all_ Akko has been doing these past few weeks.

"How long? Um," Lotte caught Akko's eyes steal a glance at the overhead clock. As well as the grimace that followed. "A few hours?" The brunette attempted to answer with a sincere and honest expression. Which _wasn't_ fooling anyone.

A few hours huh? Right, sure it was.

The orange haired girl had to give some credit though, it wasn't technically lying. In fact, it wasn't a lie at all, despite Akko's guilty body language making it seem like it was. It was a solid answer, albeit a crappy one. 'A few hours' could either range form merely two hours or fifteen. It answered the question without giving the truthful answer. Since when did Akko become kind of adept at deception? Right now Lotte only caught the sleight of hand because she caught Akko red handed. Akko started studying even before Lotte settled in for the night and now she woke up to find Akko still studying hours later? Yeah, she wasn't going to buy into that fib. If Lotte hadn't woken up like she did and then asked the same question in the morning, Akko would have given the exact same answer except Lotte would be none the wiser.

"A few hours?" Lotte asked, eyes flat and unimpressed. "How many hours exactly?"

"Um. One or two?" The brunette made a show of counting with her fingers and doing hard thinking, as if she was actually recalling on events that didn't even happen.

"..." Lotte didn't relent in her stare down, content with letting her face do the talking.

Akko was sweating bullets. "Okay, three or four." A little closer to the truth, but still felt like Akko only admitted a small portion of guilt to seem convincing. She wasn't buying it.

"..."

"Five…?" Her esteemed leader tried pathetically.

Lotte sighed. This interrogation's gone on long enough. This was just getting sad. "You haven't stopped, have you?"

Akko sighed as well, closing her eyes and putting her head down in defeat. "no."

"Why haven't you? Is something happening? Do you need our help with it?"

The brunette only looked at her weird. "No? Why would there be? If something really important was happening, I would have told you and Sucy about it already, you know that." The little witch's tone was confused as the expression she was wearing. There was no hint of the hesitation or nervousness from before. So either nothing really was going on and Lotte was just speculating, or something really was happening except Akko just didn't consider it important.

The bespectacled witch pulled up a chair and sat on the other side of the table, facing the brunette. "It's just, you don't normally do this kind of thing. Staying up really late just to do work." Lotte added to the crossed look on Akko's face. It looked like she was going to protest. "Normally you do all your work and studying after school. Sometimes you do it really fast within minutes, sometimes it takes you a couple of hours, but never really more than that. You...never really studied past a certain number of hours, and you definitely didn't sacrifice your sleep to study for regular everyday schoolwork."

Lotte thought back on all the times Akko traded her sleep for work. Seeing Akko working studiously in the library for her parade project, seeing Akko's bed empty at night during the festival, her leader passed out during class after an all nighter. They all had one thing in common.

"Every time you overwork yourself like this, it's usually for a reason. And usually your reasons are pretty big. The only times you pull all nighters is when you want to prove something, or work on something really important." Lotte stared deep into her leader- her friend's eyes. Trying to search for answers to questions she found herself asking recently. About Akko's recent activities, her changes, and most importantly, where it was all coming from. Why she was doing the things she's doing, her reasons, her newfound motivation. Her sudden desperation to improve, to be better in the shortest amount of time possible. It felt like Akko was overclocking her body in order to transform. To shed it's old skin and emerge as someone entirely different. Someone new. To become a better witch in the blink of an eye. A great witch with many talents. A great witch like...almost like Diana, in a way.

"Do you remember? You have to remember, you're the one who did them after all. During the festival you worked for several nights trying to master the transformation spell, then you studied desperately to prevent being expelled, and you worked late in here to complete your Happy Time Project for the Enchanted Parade." Reflecting on those past events made the orange haired girl realize that it was no different to what Akko was doing the last few weeks.

She felt the grip on her sleeve she didn't know she was holding get tighter. Akko's new work ethic went beyond something to be admired now. It completely went passed the line and was definitely becoming worrisome instead. Sucy's words were beginning to ring true.

At first Lotte was willing to give it some time, to give the benefit of a doubt. Maybe Akko was going through a phase. Akko was a big girl, she knows when to stop.

She was wrong.

Somewhere down the line, Lotte had forgotten that Akko's stubbornness worked both ways. Her friend's perseverance and bullheadedness let her succeed in multiple scenarios, but it could also serve to make Akko literally work herself to death. At least, if this was the direction her friend was going.

Lotte raised her head slowly, uncertainly. Her timidity coming back full force, making her feel foolish and out of line.

Akko only stared, her face was blank and unreadable. Damn it all. Instead of a friend confronting another friend, it felt more like a child trying, begging, pleading for the parent to change for the better, to do the right thing.

It was not supposed to be like that! This was just Akko. They were both students, they were both the same age. Lotte could now see why Akko and Sucy constantly refer to her as a kid, as the youngest sibling who had to be looked after. Because she sure felt like one right now.

'But I'm not! I'm a big girl. I moved here on my own, I do my work, I complete my responsibilities. I don't _need_ to be looked after!' The minority of her mind argued futilely. But it was just a small part of her that didn't think so. Both her mind and heart felt like she was still a kid, at least when Akko was involved. It doesn't make sense. Why is it when it comes to Akko, Lotte suddenly feels so silly and vulnerable? Akko wasn't Lotte's parents, she wasn't older, or wiser, or more knowledgeable in any way that would make her seem like someone to look up to. As mean and insulting as that sounded, it was the truth. There wasn't anything about Akko that made her a type of figure or guardian.

Yes, Akko was the leader of the Red team, but is being the leader really enough to make Lotte feel like she was being looked out for? Was that it? Lotte didn't remember feeling like this for more than a few weeks, so it either was or it wasn't.

The shorter witch ground her teeth, pushing the stifling feeling down to the depths of her mind. "So I ask again, is there something going on? Something your own team, your friends, should know? Because we can help, all you have to do is come to us. We can't help you if we don't know what's going on, Akko." Her voice was small and weak, despite starting out so strong.

Lotte felt something brush against her fingers. Akko had taken Lotte's hand in her own and was holding it. Akko's thumb stroked the back of Lotte's hand comfortingly.

"Lotte. It's fine, really! There isn't anything going on right now, there are no events to prepare for, and there are no ideas of mine that need to be spectacular." The brunette chuckled. "All of those instances were special cases, no need to worry about me making a repeat performance of those anytime soon." The little witch almost whispered wistfully. As if looking back on fond memories. Of simpler times.

Was she joking? Is this some kind of joke? She stays up this late studying for the past six hours and says she "wasn't making a repeat performance"? She sure had some nerve to say that while doing exactly what she said she wouldn't do for who knows how long now. This might not even be the first time Akko snuck out at night just to work or study.

Any other time Lotte would have reared up and have words about such blatant hypocrisy, but Akko's slow and steady stroking on the back of her hand palm was working wonders relaxing her and calming her addled emotions. Was Akko even aware of what she was doing?

The orange haired girl cleared her throat, gathering herself together and pretending like she didn't enjoy the pleasant sensation on her hand. "I would believe you, if you weren't doing it right now. I mean, where are we?"

"In the library."

"And what time is it?"

"Two in the morning." Her leader cringed, more than aware how incriminating it was just answering these simple questions.

"And what were you doing _in the library at two in the morning_?" Maybe Lotte was laying it on too thick..

"...Reading"

"And wouldn't you count that as pulling an all nighter?"

The brown haired girl sat up. "Okay. This is totally different, I swear!"

Lotte almost smiled at the familiarity of her antics. "Is it?" She asked, pleased that Akko wasn't so enigmatic in her demeanor anymore. Now she felt more at home, felt comfortable enough to talk to her like an equal, a teammate, a friend.

The brunette beckoned her to her side of the table. "Take a look at this." Akko closed one of the opened books on the table and tapped on the cover.

"Chicken Soup for the Soul?" What?

"Oh nooononono. Not that one." The little witch hurriedly picked up the book and casually threw it aside. Closing another opened book, Akko once again tapped on the cover.

"The Anarchist...Cookbook." Lotte shot a confused look, half wondering, half expecting for it to be the wrong book again due to the strange title. What kind of books was her leader reading?

'I thought her dream was to be like Shiny Chariot? Did she now want to overthrow the government and be a chef?' There was no understanding this girl sometimes.

Akko nodded her head. "Yep! And look at this." The little witch opened the book again to a bookmarked page, pointing at the contents.

'The primary function of these weapons is to explode, killing or maiming nearby troops. In order to fully utilize it's explosive element, the grenade is filled with small metal fragments. The resulting explosion will launch the fragments in every direction. It is imperative to exercise extreme caution when handling-'

"Um. Excuse me, but what in the world are you reading?" Lotte tore her eyes away from the page, now noticing the diagram of a World War 2 era MK2 grenade. "What is all this?"

Akko beamed. "See? It's totally different isn't it?" She pointed at the various images and diagrams of the assortment of weapons showcased in the book. "I'm not here just to study, Constanze actually got me this book in order to help me learn so I can in turn help with a little project of hers." Akko said, completely missing the point of Lotte's concern. "I'm not doing this just to overwork myself, I'm doing this to help one of our friends." Lotte couldn't bring herself to feel glad about that. Not when this was the alternative

"What kind of stuff are you and Constanze doing that you have to research on explosives? Don't you know how _deadly_ those things are?" Lotte gritted out, making sure to add emphasis on the word. Lotte herself didn't know, all she did know was that they were instruments used primarily for war and taking the lives of other people. That's what they were made to do, that's what they were intended to be used for. Instruments like those should never be taken lightly, no matter how lightly Constanze brandishes them around. And Considering their last "Project" together, Lotte very much doubted the nature of this "New Project" was anything innocent like a cardboard presentation.

"Lotte didn't say anything, but the way Constanze fired a rocket launcher at the metal dragons that were _carrying_ her and Sucy was incredibly irresponsible. Lotte appreciated the thought, but the execution was terrible and was probably more dangerous than just letting the dragons carry her away.

The missile flew erratically in random loops before exploding in mid air without hitting a target. That missile could have seriously hit one of them or exploded nearby her or Sucy. And assuming that it did hit the dragon, they were made of metal. An explosion on a target like that would send bits and pieces of metal everywhere. Some of which could hit an eye or some of the metal shards could have been sharp enough to pierce through the skin and into internal organs like the stomach or intestines.

The possible collateral damage would be too great and just overall too random and risky to take chances with, even if Akko and Constanze are willing to take the gamble.

Akko scoffed at the question. "It can't be any more dangerous than the explosions I cause on a regular basis. It's just one explosion out of many, I'm not a glass vase." The brunette rolled her eyes. "Plus, I've got Constanze by my side. Whatever happens, I'm sure we'll be fine."

Something inside Lotte snapped at the casual dismissal. " **Like that's any** -!" She was almost yelling now, her voice raised higher than what it normally was. Lotte stopped herself before she lost all control, taking even breaths to regulate her temper. The short witch looked at Akko, her leader's bewildered expression stoking the flames of the anger that was fighting to rise in her gut. As if she was genuinely at a loss why Lotte was worried, or why she cared so much about something that was "trivial".

Trivial to Akko's eyes maybe, but not to Lotte. She always knew that her leader was a risk taker, reckless, and a danger unto herself, but this was taking it into unnecessary levels of harm and jeopardy. The brown haired girl's flighty attitude was not helping.

Lotte breathed deeply one more time. Her eyes opened, cold and sharp, seemingly staring holes straight into Akko's soul. Lotte never really looked at anyone this way. It felt too mean, too judging, too critical, too haughty and disdainful. As if she was trying to tear people apart limb from limb with just her eyes. It never sat well with her, but this time, it was all she could feel like doing right now. "And what if it _won't_ be fine, Akko? Let's assume you did pull through this, that it worked out in the end. Are you just going to keep doing this? Just going to keep denying your body of rest, keep exhausting yourself just to get things done? Is that the way to overcome your problems now?" _Because that is beyond pathetic._ She bit her tongue before it could get the last scathing words out, but she doubt it made a difference. It was clear as day what she wanted to say out loud, even if Lotte stopped herself from saying it.

"Oh is that what this is?" Akko reared up, bristling at the scornful look that she was being given. Her body's defense mechanism against such stares after being sent her way so much. Whether it was from Diana, Hannah and Barbara, Her professors, or other classmates, Lotte didn't know. Maybe it was all of the above.

Seeing the same withering glare on her own friend's face must be a big psychological hit. Somewhere in Lotte's heart, she almost wept at the hurt she must be causing. But it was buried underneath the sheer amount of contempt that was filling her mind. In fact, the big part of her that felt anger, _reveled_ in the bitterness Akko was expressing. Feeling elated that Akko was getting angry and defensive, because that meant that she was hurt.

 _And that was good_.

It fed her anger like a drug, circulating in her blood stream, making it boil even more in excitement. She wanted more, it made her _feel_ good to be quenching her anger like this.

At least for now it felt good. Lotte was definitely going to regret this after the rage burns all of it's fuel, but right now she didn't care. She only saw the anger and pain in her friend's eyes and felt like smiling.

The brunette continued. "Is this what this is all about? You're upset that I'm actually working hard towards my goal? You know, after all we've been through, I thought at least you would have my back. This isn't exactly easy for me either, constantly dedicating nearly all of my time working, practicing, studying and making hardly any progress."

Akko stood up from her chair, one hand stamped on the table for balance, the other spread out at her side. "You think I like feeling like a failure? That I enjoy feeling trapped and unable to move forwards or improve? I'm not doing this for fun, Lotte. I'm not doing this 'Just because' even if it may look, feel, or sound like I am. At the end of the day, I'm still just a girl. I have my limits, my imperfections, my doubts and concerns, but you know what?"

Akko paused in her tirade.

"I'm still willing to push past them. Still willing to keep pushing forwards. I'm trying my absolute _Damnedest_ tomake a change! I'm putting up with how boring and difficult and tiring it is to do nothing but work every single day. There are some days where I feel like it's all for nothing, there are some days where I feel like I'm never going to reach my goal, some days where I'm reminded just how _far_ I am from fulfilling my dreams. And there are some days where I just lay down on the grass and realize how far behind I am from everyone else. But that's okay." Akko chuckled, either from self depreciation or hysteria.

Her tone become light and sardonic, laced heavily with self deprecating humor. "It's okay, because it won't be like that for long. I won't stay behind forever. It will all be worth it in the end. All of my hard work will pay off and we can all have a good time. It would make everything _so much_ better." Akko's voice was hoarse and weak. As if feeling tired from all the stress in the past year coming back all at once. "But that's just what I tell myself. That's just my optimism talking. I don't really even know if it will come true. All I can do is try, do what I can and hope that it's enough in the long run."

Lotte was silent. Conflicted at how she should feel, though the smoke in her mind was beginning to clear and it was obvious which side was winning the battle in her head. Whatever argument she had quickly died in her throat. All of that anger was burned out of her system. She didn't have the heart to utter a word. Not after what she's hearing.

"I thought, It'll be all right. I could do this. Because even if it's hard, even if it seems impossible, even if all the other teachers and students want to go against me, when it gets rough I at least have you guys to fall back on." Lotte's breath hitched and her eyes widened as Akko turned her gaze back to her, the pain and sadness now clear in her red eyes. This time, Lotte definitely didn't feel like smiling at seeing them. Her stomach churned and she felt sick.

Still, Lotte said nothing. Not daring to speak out and interrupt her leader's words. It was all she could do as feelings of regret started coiling around her like a snake.

"You and Sucy. The three of us sure went through a lot together. The whole world could fight against me and I would still keep going, as long as I still have you two it wouldn't matter. Even if the magic community hates Shiny Chariot and her magic, even if the teachers think I'm not cut out for it and want to kick me out, even if Luna Nova hates change with all of it's stiff rules, and all the students want to pick on me and blame me for not being part of a witch family, I would still keep going and become the best witch I can be."

The little witch collapsed on her chair. "It's my lifelong dream after all..."

With each word, Lotte felt her chest constrict. The weight of her anger from earlier bearing down heavily on her, making her regret them just like she predicted she would.

Akko leaned back on her chair, her face to the ceiling. All traces of the heated and fierce emotions mere seconds ago were now gone. All that was left was a hard to read expression that looked...tired. Not in a physical sense, but the tired look of someone fed up. Someone at their wits end, someone very close to giving up entirely. It was almost hard to believe Akko having that expression. Akko never gave up, that was her thing. The one thing Lotte admired about Akko that she herself didn't have.

It was difficult to look at, it just wasn't right.

Just what has Akko been through to make her look like that? Nothing big or dangerous has been happening, they didn't go to the usual adventures and high jinks. There were no school events going on either, they brought back the Grand Triskellion and Croix's plan was beaten. So what was it?

Was this really just about self improvement?

A wistful voice spoke next to her. "...I thought things were different, Lotte. I was hoping that things would be different. But I guess even you have your limits, huh? There really is nothing but stiff resistance to meet in this school, I was just..naive enough to think otherwise I guess."

Akko had yet to stop leaning and resting her head on her chair. Her neck was craned up, exposing her bare throat as her face adamantly looked skywards. Refusing to look back down and showing how tear stained her eyes must be. Lotte could see wet trails dripping down her friend's cheeks, no matter how much Akko wanted to hide them by resting her forearms on her eyes.

It was quiet. The only sounds to hear were Akko's words. Her words which seemingly chained Lotte where she sat, compelling her to listen. As well as the soft burning of Akko's dying candle. The light ever so slowly dimming as the flames flickered, fighting to stay bright as the wick grew shorter and shorter with each passing second.

It was quiet between the two of them and she didn't like it. She wanted to talk, move, get up, embrace Akko, stroke her brown hair and say that it would all be okay, soothe her pain, do something. Anything was better than letting Akko mull things on her own right now. Considering the direction where the brunette's thoughts were headed.

The shorter witch searched for her voice and yanked it from where it was hiding. "You know, if you don't change your candle the melted wax is going to overflow and leave a mess on the table." Of all the things she could have talked about she chose a candle. Not addressing Akko's feelings or address her own or make an attempt to reconcile with each other, nope, a candle. _Clearly_ a burning wick covered in wax was more important than the stuff they had been arguing about.

Whatever. It did it's job of starting a conversation, no matter how random and unrelated it was. It's not like Lotte was going to leave the topic there now that she's started talking. Now all that's left is if Akko will go along.

Akko rubbed her eyes with her sleeve, finally looking down and seeing her face to face. She gave a small smile. "Haha, yeah. I'll have to replace that soon or put it out or something." Lotte felt the weight on her shoulders lift a little, glad that they could talk lightly in spite of the loaded things that were said. Akko continued. "Listen, Lotte. I'm really sorry that you got angry. Whether it was from me disregarding your concern, or me overworking myself, or me not being considerate about your feelings. I'm still not sure which one it was but...it was something that _I_ did, wasn't it? I was doing something that didn't sit well with you and you got fed up with it, right? But you have to believe me, I wasn't disregarding you on purpose. I just…didn't know. didn't know it affected you so much."

The brown haired girl rubbed the back of her neck. "I mean, this isn't the first time I've done this. You didn't seem bothered by it before. Well regardless, I'll try to tone it down form now on if that makes you happy." The brunette crossed her arms. "I'll try to. I won't make guarantees."

For what it was worth, Lotte felt relieved to actually hear Akko being considerate. It didn't solve the problem or answer Lotte's concerns, but it meant that Akko now at least acknowledges her worries and wasn't just brushing them off. For that, she was truly grateful. "It's not true, you know." Akko looked at her questioningly. "About you being naive, it's not true. You're not stupid or naive for hoping for some support."

The timid witch gave a meek smile, almost apologetic in a way. "It's not just stiff resistance to meet in this school, you have lots of people to count on to support you. You have people at your back, Akko." Lotte worked the courage to look up, softly but firmly maintaining eye contact to show her sincerity.

"Your Rival, Diana believes in you, doesn't she? Even your idol, professor Ursula or Shiny Chariot loves you and wants to see you succeed. You have the Green Team to rely on, Amanda would give you a black eye for even _thinking_ that you're alone." The brunette chuckled, the light mirthful sound making Lotte giggle as well. "She really cares about you, she just has her own way of showing it."

"Like Sucy?"

A laugh escaped her. "Yes, like Sucy. You get my point though. You have people to rely on. You have rivals, mentors, and friends. You have us, your team. You have..me." Lotte took a shuddering breath. The look of pain and sadness mixed with the anger in Akko's eyes coming back to haunt her, forever burned in her mind. The sheer visceral hurt, as if she'd been dealt a great loss. The initial shock of losing something precious, the sharp sting of losing one of her closest friend's support.

Lotte's support.

"I'm still here. You haven't lost me, just because I get angry doesn't mean I stopped supporting you on your goals. I might think you're going about it the wrong way, but I still want you to succeed." The orange haired girl spoke from the bottom of her heart, hoping she sounded as genuine as she felt. "You _can_ fall back on me, on us. You don't even have to think twice about doing so. We're a team, the things we've been through together mean something to me. So don't go and throw me away so quickly okay? Because it's going to take a lot more than that to make me abandon you." She brought one finger to wipe a stray tear that escaped her eye. "Hah, I bet you can't make me desert you even if you tried."

Akko giggled alongside, "Really?"

"Really really."

The little witch sniffed. "I'm glad. I was preparing for the worst and I guess jumped to conclusions. I don't know, something about the way you looked rattled me to the core. Made me believe that you were scoffing me and casting me aside like everybody else. Sorry."

"I guess I kind of lost control of myself there too, It's not entirely your fault. It takes two to tango, Akko. And I wasn't exactly being kind with my words..or actions. If anything, my behavior provoked you and made you lash out." Lotte bowed her head.

Akko waved her hand. "It's all right, if you made me lash out then I'm glad you did so. I feel a lot better now that I got all of that out of my system."

"I didn't know yelling at me was so therapeutic. Maybe we should do this more often when all of your stress builds up. I'll be happy to take whatever stressful load you release." Lotte teased, grinning salaciously while wagging her eyebrows suggestively at the now blushing girl.

She was fighting to suppress her own blush at saying something so bold, but the reaction she was seeing made the embarrassment worth it. Oh yeah, a girl could get used to this. Akko's embarrassed face was just too cute. Lotte could see why her two teammates enjoyed teasing her so much. Something about this was just so fulfilling.

Oh god she was becoming one of them wasn't she?

The little witch groaned and covered her eyes, hiding her face from view. "Phrasing! Please! Goodness, Lotte. You make it sound so scandalous and naughty. First Sucy makes a perverted joke and now you? I didn't know I was leading a team of perverts, where did I go wrong raising you two?" Akko wept dramatically in fake distress.

"Well they say there's no greater role model than the parents, right mom?" Lotte laughed jokingly.

The brown haired girl kept up the concerned parent act before a smile cracked on her lips, then a giggle which soon became full blown laughter.

The two of them laughed alongside each other, just soaking in the pleasant atmosphere and enjoying each other's company. This felt…nice.

"Anyways. I still want to support you, Akko. But that doesn't mean I agree with your methods. Your body still needs rest, you need to take it easy. I can let it slip once or twice, but you've consistently been working harder than you need to for weeks now. How many hours of sleep do you normally get now, three? And before you say three hours is enough, no, it isn't. You might not feel tired, but your body is paying for it in different ways. You not feeling tired is just masking the problem. Even the body won't feel pain if it's numb, but it doesn't mean the damage being done to it doesn't exist. Do you understand what I'm trying to say? The average person needs seven hours of sleep, seven, not three, not five, not six. Seven."

"I do get what you're saying, but I can't afford to be average! I'm sorry, but there are times when your friends just disagree with you. This is one of those times. You can try to force me to do what you want, but it'll only make me resent you. This is something I _need_ to do. I won't be able to rest easy if I feel like I'm putting only half the effort and not trying my hardest to improve every single day."

Lotte was speechless. She almost couldn't believe what she was hearing. Akko felt that strongly about improving? "At some point there needs to be a line to be drawn. You need sleep, it's never a good idea to sacrifice it. Its counter productive in the long run. Your attention will suffer, your grades will drop, and you'll do worse in tests." She was grasping straws at this point. Naming every possible scenario that could end badly.

"If my body needs sleep that bad then I suggest it sleeps harder. My grades have actually improved recently, so I don't think that's going to be a problem."

"But, but that's...not how it works.." Lotte spoke wearily. She knew she was fighting a losing battle. If Akko was still insistent, then nothing Lotte could do or say was going to work at this place and time.

"Maybe. Maybe it does, maybe it doesn't. Look, Lotte. There's nothing you can say that will make me change my mind. If you're dealing with someone who is stubbornly refusing to listen to you, then all you really can do is let them be. Nothing you say will convince them, and forcing them to change will only make them rebellious. Trust me, I should know. Not only can I be stubborn, but I've also dealt with some stubborn people myself. Sometimes some lessons just have to be learned the hard way. That's what I'm asking you to do for me, Lotte. Let me make my own mistakes. Because right now, I am dead set on seeing this through."

Lotte could see her leader's expression soften as her voice became gentle. Akko's subdued demeanor was dulling her will to argue. No like she needed to anymore. She released a breath in defeat, they could argue about this all night and not go anywhere. "That sounds really wise. Where did you learn that?"

"Aside from personal experience? The internet."

Lotte's face fell flat. "Oh, wow. And here I thought it came from a wise source like your grandparents or something."

"Haha yep, you'd be surprised." The lights suddenly flickered erratically before it completely went out and left them in complete darkness.

Green light erupted in front of her. Akko was holding her glowing wand, acting as their now only source of light. "Aw crap, now I have to clean that up. I knew I was forgetting something." Akko griped, shining her wand where the candle was. Which was now a pool of melted wax, some overflowing the container and getting on the table.

"Why don't you clean that, I'll go get us another candle." Lotte got up, preparing to bound off to the storage, pulling out her own wand.

"You will? Thanks, Lotte. I'd really appreciate it." Akko thanked distractedly, attempting to scrape the hardened wax off the wood with her wand. Lotte shook her head at the heedless treatment of her wand. You'd think Akko would hold it to a higher regard when she herself dreamed of becoming a witch. A wand was one of the most iconic things about witches aside from a broom, a cauldron, and the staple witch hat. Now the wand was some kind of toy, or a garden tool, and apparently a thing to scrape other things with. Oh how the mighty have fallen.

Rest in peace, Akko's wand's dignity.

Why was she treating a wand like a person? She's been hanging around these people for too long, things are getting out of hand she needs to go home. "I'll be right back in a little bit." she said, walking off and hearing a grunt of acknowledgment from the other witch.

Lotte checked the clock. It was now three, by her standards that was really late. Much later than how she normally would stay up. But it wasn't anything to lose sleep over, it's not like she stays up this late routinely after all.

'I guess I can stay for a few more minutes, it's been a while since we've talked and bonded like this.' Looks like she was doing exactly what she lectured Akko about. Ironic.

Now, where do they normally store those candles?

/-/

"So why is this so important anyways? Why do you absolutely need to keep working, is it really just so you can improve?" Lotte asked, wanting to know just why her leader was actling like a dedicated scholar so suddenly. The two of them had been talking for a few hours in total now and Lotte was beginning to feel those late hours start creeping up on her.

"You just answered your own question there. Yes, this is just for the sake of me being a better witch. There's nothing else about it."

"But why now? You've always wanted to improve, but you did it at your own pace. You don't have to rush it all of a sudden, the school isn't going anywhere." the carrot top witch smiled goodheartedly.

The brunette looked up from her book. "Heh, that's what I thought too. Then I realized just how short four years can be." Akko set the book she was reading down on the table, sighing and straightening herself out, ready to go into full lecture mode. Another thing Lotte picked up on. This almost adult like side of Akko she wasn't accustomed to seeing, but now seemed to appear more and more frequently. The image clashed violently with the child like wonder Akko always exuberated at the beginning of the year.

"We're not gonna be here forever, Lotte. We're not going to spend a decade in this school, we're not even going to be staying for half of that. Four years sounds long on paper, but in actuality...it really isn't."

With each word Akko spoke, the brunette sounded older and more mature. She said it once and she'll say it again, seeing her usually brash leader like this was starnge and foreign. It felt like Akko was glitching out and showing different aspects of her personality at the same time. Except it seemed like Akko was being torn between staying as her old child like self or the new emerging adult future version of her.

 _You seem to suddenly know what you're doing, when did you become so reliable all of a sudden?_

 _And what is that supposed to mean?_

The byplay between Akko and Sucy played in her head. That conversation now felt a lot more appropriate.

Lotte only stared and watched in awed bewilderment. "But all the other kids have the same time as you and they don't push themselves to their limit everyday, why do you?" She tried poking holes in Akko's logic.

The brunette only laughed in response, as if answering a question she's been asking herself about a million times already. "Keep in mind that I'm not exactly like the other students, you know that right? First student from a non witch family, never flew a broom before enrolling, never cast a spell before enrolling, no prior knowledge or experience handling magic before enrolling, and if that wasn't enough, I'm one of the two victims of the dream fuel spirit and had no idea about it until recently. Diana at least knew something was wrong the next day and spent who knows how long working hard to get her magic back and spending the next years perfecting her magic to get where she is now. I didn't get that luxury, I didn't know something was wrong. I had no idea my magic was taken, so I spent the next decade doing nothing about it. I just dreamed and dreamed and dreamed like the kid I was. I'm going down an old beat road that no one's ever gone before. I'm the first of my kind, an antecedent, or a pioneer in more ways than one. I'm a front liner for all the girls that want to become witches not born in a witch family. And as such, with all these disadvantages, I have to work harder than the other girls just to make ends meet."

"So you're working hard now to make up for the lost time ten years ago?" Is that what this all was?

"I guess. To be honest I didn't really realize how far behind I was until just a few months ago. And another month to actually do something about it."

A yawn suddenly escaped her.

How long have they been talking? It had to be at least an hour. Lotte could feel her eyes start to grow heavy, something her leader noticed but didn't comment on. "Is it really that important to you, Akko? To improve as quick as possible, so you can be comparable to everyone else?"

Akko's expression grew serious as she answered in a somber tone. "More than you know."

Lotte didn't know what to feel about the new insight she received that night. It answered some of her questions, sure, but it hardly made things better.

As she said her goodbyes, and bid each other goodnight, Lotte stole a glance back before closing the door of the library.

Akko was just sitting there, her fingers laced together and elbows propped on the table. Lotte blinked, taking in her leader's solemn expression as she sat alone with nothing but a book and the light of her candle illuminating her little corner against an otherwise darkened library before clicking the door fully shut behind her.

This whole thing has been weighing on her mind. Akko's sudden busy bodied attitude, her leader's abrupt heightened desire to outdo herself, the late night jaunts, the tower she apparently knew very little about, Sucy's odd moments of disquiet, Akko's recently new involvement with Constanze and whatever activity they were doing together when no one was looking. Not even the rest of Green team knew what those two were doing when they were together. Neither of the two were generous with the details, not out of unwillingness as Akko just proved, but something else.

Lotte couldn't help but feel like they were all...interconnected. Like pieces of a bigger picture that she just wasn't seeing fully.

Of course it could all just be one big coincidence, but the gut feeling deep down wasn't satisfied with a cheap explanation like that. Her instincts were telling her something was wrong. The same feeling when taking a test she was ill prepared for.

Lotte had a feeling something was going to go wrong, she just didn't know what. Sooner or later something was going to happen.

Something bad.

On her way back to their dorm, Lotte passed through a hallway with a myriad of windows. One particular window was larger than the rest. From the corner of her vision, her eyes caught what seemed like a black mass that looked like it didn't belong.

Lotte turned her head, gazing out the great window. Dark clouds littered the sky, moonlight appeared from the cracks and gaps shining down to the dense forests below. She stared tensely at the tower in the distance. The black mass that caught her attention, the foreign object that didn't belong. It stood ways out into the distance yet looked super imposed compared to the rest of it's surroundings. Lotte gazed at it, the same feeling of unease back when she stared at the mouth of the tram tunnel creeping back to her.

She watched as a mass of crows emerged out of the dark trees and flew aimlessly in the air, some flying and hovering close to the tower.

Okay, weird. Crows weren't nocturnal, seeing a flock of them flying around at night was unusual.

They've had a sudden influx of Crows recently. Before, they were a rarity, spotting only a few once a month. Now entire flocks of them could be seen flying out in the distance. A significant increase to the few stragglers they used to see.

It could be a group of crows found a new feeding ground, or something happened in their old one so they had to move. A heavy presence of crows could be indicative of a large food source, in this case, seeds and grains as well as carrion. It made sense why people in the past associated crows with death considering their diet consists of dead flesh.

But why a sudden murder of crows migrated here was anyone's guess.

The bespectacled witch tore her eyes away from the window, walking back to her intended destination. The occasional howling of the wind could be heard as well as distant cawing filling the night.

/-/

Akko didn't consider herself to be a technical girl, but when it comes to steps and simple tasks, she was a genius. Which is why this was going to go smooth as a baby's butt.

No matter how panicked or petrified Constanze looked, hiding behind her bulletproof shield and covered head to toe under her bomb blast suit which she got from god knows where.

Where did Constanze get these weird equipment from and were they willing to give Akko a discount? Because the stuff Constanze has looked legit. Legitimately expensive.

"Like this?" She gave one of the wires a tentative pull. Constanze immediately ducked behind the shield. How encouraging.

"Relax. I haven't done anything yet. All I did was unscrew the top, so can you get over here so you can monitor my progress like the mentor you agreed to be?" She asked shrewdly. This girl. Where did all that enthusiasm go?

The little German slowly, _very slowly_ inched- more like "centimeter'd- her way next to her. Talk about a lack faith! If she can't have faith in Akko's abilities, then at least have faith in your own teaching skills!

"So after I unscrew the cover, I unscrew every single screw inside so I can dismantle the parts." Akko said, unscrewing every single screw she could find with precision screwdriver handling. Her ability to spin a screwdriver from left to right wasn't so bad if she could say so herself. Clearly this was a major feat of modern engineering.

With each screw that become undone, Constanze's blatant (and rather rude) shaking and trembling decreased. Now instead of looking like a doomed soul with no hope, she now looked like someone that just might make it out of here alive. The look of newfound hope was pouring out of her eyes.

"Haha, you look surprised. Don't know why, I read that manual. You got me that book and made me read it after all. it's only natural a great and powerful witch like me could pick up on it like a pro." Akko could practically feel her nose growing with how hard she was talking herself up. She was only kidding of course, but it still felt nice. Even if it wasn't true.

Constanze gave her an amused look, seeing right through Akko's posturing. She waved her hand, motioning for Akko to continue.

Akko spent the next few minutes mimicking the steps Constanze showed her through her demonstration as well as the step by step guide she read in the book. Oh yeah, Constanze made _sure_ to hammer in the technique into Akko's brain. Their very lives literally depended on it, Constanze wasn't cutting corners in teaching her and Akko wasn't cutting corners in learning either. A single mistake leading in death was a good motivator.

Akko was pretty sure Constanze's gear and scared act was all just a ruse to make fun of her. At least, she hoped it was. A shield and a blast suit all for an act? That had to be the most expensive trolling ever...of all time.

"And done." Akko did the finishing touches. A fully dismantled and disarmed trip mine, which _wasn't_ going to explode and kill them, set in front of her.

Constanze leered at her "creation" with a keen eye. Inspecting the mass of tools and parts from all angles before pulling out a magnifying glass and inspecting further. Geez, Constanze sure wasn't pulling her punches with her barefaced lack of trust in her abilities, but whatever. Akko knows she did everything correctly.

Constanze flipped, turned, spun, and tossed the device in the air. Flipping it over to check the bottom for the fiftieth time already. The smol witch gave a thumbs up.

"Yes!" Akko cheered and whooped, pumping a fist. Akko did a little victory dance. "What did I tell ya? Like a pro. And you came here all dressed like that thinking I was going to mess up and get us both killed." The brunette poked both of her index fingers on Constanze's cheek. Or at least the visor where her cheeks would have been. "In your face!"

The little German wrenched her face away, wiping any dirt from the visor of her bomb blast suit and pointed to the plethora of wires. She held up two fingers. 'Two more times.'

"I gotta do it two more times? But I already did it, you _saw_ me do it. And I did it all correctly, doesn't that prove I can do this? Come on, let's just both start clearing this place out so we can get more done in the same amount of time."

The shorter witch shook her head, putting her foot down.

"One isn't enough for you? It has to be three?" The other girl nodded her head. "How about two?" Akko bargained. "I'll do it only a second time but really slowly and carefully, where you will know for sure I know what I'm doing." The brunette spun the screwdriver in her hand and slung it in her sash like a cowboy holstering a revolver. With the sheer amount of practice she had, her hands had become dexterous and experienced at handling a screwdriver. Now she was able to do nifty tricks like spinning and twirling it around her fingers in a way that normal people don't have the time to learn. People would look at her in awe and think 'Wow, she needs to get a life.'

Constanze didn't relent in her stern glare, not buying into any of her excuses or bargaining. Well then, looks like she made up her mind. They weren't going to move forwards unless Constanze gets what she wants.

"Fine, but don't blame me if I rush it and make a mistake and kill us both in a blaze of glory." She wasn't going to rush anything, she wasn't Amanda. Akko wasn't crazy enough to tempt fate like that.

The little witch drilled another mine out of the wall using Constanze's drill bit, pulled out her sonic screwdriver and went to work, grumbling about indentured slavery, big corporations, and the exploitation of the working class. "Don't make me organize and rally another labor union, Constanze." she half whispered, half threatened.

The German girl pulled out a night stick out of _freaking_ nowhere and tapped it against her open palm threateningly in response. Akko narrowed her eyes at the display. Constanze's shield, body armor, and a night stick. What, were they role playing now?

The brunette shook her head at their antics. They were getting too comfortable with each other to be doing silly things like this. It didn't help that Akko knew in her soul that the night stick was just Constanze playing along with the joke. (though that didn't mean that she wouldn't use it if she deserved it.)

A couple of minutes and three disarmed mines later, and Akko was mentally throwing Constanze in a padded cell. And maybe one more to throw herself into one too. She wiped her brow. "There, I did it. Those suckers aren't going to hurt a fly. Satisfied?" Akko asked in a petty tone.

The shorter girl gave another thumbs up while putting away her stuffy suit.

"So we're a go?"

A nod.

"All right." Akko turned to the other trip mines. "Let's get started taking these down. You get the first six, I'll get the last three. Okay? Okay." Akko quickly concluded on her own, walking off, strategically not allowing Constanze a word in edge wise.

Constanze pulled the back of her collar with the night stick before Akko could even Complete two whole steps.

"What's wrong Constanze?" The brunette asked, not looking back. Refusing to look back.

She felt two tugs on her collar. Akko twitched, an explosive sigh escaping her lips as she craned her neck and spoke in a sweet innocent voice. "Yes?"

The little German held the nightstick on one hand and a sign in the other. [What is this inequity?]

"What? There were twelve of them, and since I just did three, that leaves only three left for me for an even total share."

[But I taught you how to do it.]

"And if you didn't, you would be stuck doing all twelve by yourself." Akko grinned like a shark at springing her trap. She made sure to steer the conversation this way just so she could pull that card.

[And?] That was all she wrote after an agonizingly slow minute. Sweat was dribbling from her forehead.

Ohoho avoiding the obvious are we? We can't have that. "And I just did you a favor by taking time out of my busy schedule and my energy learning under you how to do this really difficult task. I spent all night last night reading that huge book in the library, I even got caught and had a huge argument with my friend because of it. Did I mention how difficult doing this was? I'm just a below average witch, it was a miracle I even learned how to do it!" Akko whimpered dramatically while cackling like an evil witch on the inside at her bold faced lie.

Whether or not Constanze believed that last part was beside the point. Constanze owed her. Akko could have easily played the ignorance card and let the genius do all of the debugging by herself under the pretense of Akko simply not knowing how.

Constanze's face fell, her shoulders slumped as she dropped her nightstick in utter dejection. Ugh. Her heart. Her freaking bleeding heart! Great, now she was feeling guilty.

So Akko either loses the argument and (unfairly) splits the work evenly. Or Akko wins the argument, _feels guilty about winning it_ , and unfairly splits up the work evenly anyways.

' _I can't win_ '

"All right, fine. I'll tell you what. Let's just take them down as fast as we can. In fact, let's have a game. There's nine left after I took down the first three, that means there's an odd number."

The small witch nodded her head, already seeing where this was going. Good.

"Whoever gets the most dismantled wins. The loser," Akko's eyes glinted evilly. "Has to publicly confess to anyone the winner says in the school."

"..."

Silence.

Okay, not the reaction she was expecting. Constanze stared at her, a bored look on her face. Huh, ever so serious. Constanze wouldn't really care about silly things like romance huh? Such a bet wouldn't be very rewarding for a busy body like her. 'Guess I should have seen this coming.'

"Don't like it? Fine, if you win I'll get you five more boxes of parts for whatever evil project you have." Constanze's eyes lit up. "But, if I win you have to take me out to eat. Anywhere I want." Akko tacked on.

Those boxes of parts were freaking expensive! If she was going to risk that much money, she also wants a reward that's actually worth.

The little German hesitated, looking honestly pained. Akko would have laughed at the reaction if she weren't insulted first. Sheesh, does she think Akko was going to use this as an excuse to go to a five star restaurant or something? Akko was thinking more of using this one freebie to go explore some nearby buffets and just stuff her face. Hey, it's a free meal, might as well try and get the most food out of it.

Constanze continued to drown in turmoil. This girl was too tightfisted and miserly. "You know, I hear that the store has deals on the toolboxes they sell. Who knows, the stuff I get you might have The Hercules Hook set you've always wanted." And just like that, the little girl went stock still. Akko could practically feel the echoes of her words dinging and banging against the inside of Constanze's skull like a pinball machine.

When Constanze turned back around to face her, there was nothing but greed. Pure, unadulterated, avarice. Akko felt a bead of sweat roll down the side of her head.

'Whatever works works, I guess.'

"So we got a deal?"

Her only answer was a drill bit and a wrench being thrown in her hands.

"Well then," Akko gave the trigger of her drill bit a good squeeze, the drill spinning and sounding off. She pulled her trusty screwdriver out with her other hand, twirling it in her fingers. "Let's get this show on the road."

* * *

"Hey Constanze."

"..."

"I really didn't like the food they had at the cafeteria today."

"..."

"I mean, did you taste that new German sausage they served? It was the _wurst_!"

"..."

"Constanze?"

 ***Whack** *

"OW!"

* * *

"These rings attached to the explosives reminds me of a watch I used to have."

"..."

"It was a nice watch, but I guess I was too reckless with it. Because the mean older boys took it from me and wouldn't give it back. I had to do something crazy to try and retrieve it. Do you know what I did, Constanze?"

"…?"

"I stabbed him...for the watch."

"..?!"

"Nothing. Never mind."

* * *

"I heard somebody talking bad about you the other day."

"…?"

"Yeah. But it wasn't Hannah or Barbara. It was some other mean girl."

"..."

"She talked about how you were weird for liking these machines despite being a witch and how you made the Germans look bad or unfriendly because you never talked."

"…"

"Hey It's okay Constanze. It was just her opinion, no one else thinks the same way. No need to feel bummed out about it. Come on, pick that chin up. Besides, you didn't think I was just going to let that go after hearing it, did you?"

"..!"

"Haha, yep! Of course I argued with her. No one speaks badly about my friends!"

"..."

"Aaww, you're welcome! Do you want to know what I told that bully?"

"..?"

"I said, 'The children of your country may be kind, but German children will always be kinder!"

"…."

"Constanze?"

"..."

 ***whack!***

"OW! Not again!"

 ***Whack* *Whack* *Whack***

"Ouch Ouch Ouch! Stop! That nightstick really hurts!"

 ***Whack!* *Whack!* *Clang!***

"Hey! Easy on the merchandise! You're gonna break something. You're gonna-"

 ***Thump***

"Huh? Oh great, one of the grenades got loose. Huh, looks like the pin broke off. Constanze, do you think some glue is gonna fix- Cons? Hey! Where are you running off to so quickly? Where- Aw crap!"

"Fire in the hole!"

 ***whoosh***

 ***Kaboom!***

* * *

"Just need to get this one last wire aand," Akko snipped it with a wire cutter. "There! Bomb has been defused! Counter Terrorists win!"

Akko wiped her brow as she disarmed her last trip mine. "How's everything on your end, Doc?"

The little German was still working on her last one, but it looked like she was almost done. She gave an "OK" sign with her fingers.

"Neat."

* * *

Akko stood, looking back at the long hallway with Constanze standing right besides her. The hallway was now clear and safe to walk through. Now she didn't have to worry about anyone else getting caught in them. "Good work, partner." She smirked and held a fist out.

Constanze smirked and bumped it with her own.

"Hell yeah." The two of them laughed quietly, letting the sweet feeling of accomplishment take the wheel. Nothing more needed to be said, nothing more needed to be done. For now, they were just going to appreciate the moment.

* * *

"By the way, did you finish getting the lights working? That was what you were doing before wasn't it?"

Constanze smiled and walked back to the room with the lights, beckoning Akko to follow. The room looked relatively the same, same equipment, same debris, same barricades.

The little German made her way to a lever. Was that there before? The silent witch pulled, light flooded into the large room from all the random discarded equipment strewn about.

"Wow! You got all of them to work? That's incredible, you're amazing, Constanze." Akko bent down to the small girl standing beside her and gave a good squeeze.

Despite Constanze getting every single light equipment working, it still wasn't enough to fill the whole room with light. There were some dark corners here and there, but it's way better than what it was before. At least the big room looked normal now and not some cave or dungeon.

She was really glad she brought Constanze along. The girl had been a huge help throughout this whole night, and the nights previous. A bigger help than what she brought her here for. Constanze really went above and beyond tonight.

"I've got some goods in that cooler, you want some? You know, to celebrate." _And as a thank you._

"..." The short witch didn't make a sound, only tilting her head down.

"I'll take that as a yes..come on, let's go get some sweets. We've earned it." Akko started walking, Constanze following close behind.

* * *

"It looks kind of...pretty down there, doesn't it?" Akko asked, licking her Popsicle. Constanze made a sound of agreement, taking a bite of her own cold treat.

The two of them were sat up on a ledge high up in the big hall, overlooking their little "work site". They both sat leaning shoulder to shoulder with their legs hanging off the edge. Akko had a Popsicle, all that work made her thirsty. Constanze had an ice cream sandwich, maybe the work made her peckish or something.

Akko sighed contentedly. This felt nice and calming. It wasn't a spa or a fancy hotel, but this was relaxing in it's own right. Just chilling on a ledge, eating cold snacks after the stuff they just did was a relief in and of itself.

The view wasn't so bad either. Considering where they were, it was a sight worth marveling at. Much better than looking at miles of darkened trees and forests at least. They were high enough to give them a good angle of their makeshift workshop from above. All the lights down there, courtesy of Constanze's genius mechanic skills, made it look like they were sitting on a mountain in the outskirts of a small town or city at night. The bright lights of the equipment resembling lights from houses and buildings from afar. This hall really was huge.

"See that? All that stuff down there," Akko motioned to the lights and colors below. "was all made possible because of you. You did all of that. Which really is incredible, I think you've outdone yourself here. No, wait. I almost forgot you built that giant robot with a drill, it's gonna be hard to top that one. Well maybe you didn't outdo yourself this time, but this is still amazing on it's own. Good job, Constanze." The little witch smiled at her companion.

The girl in question puffed her chest out and tilted her head back in pride. Her whole demeanor practically screamed "Praise me! Praise me! Praise me more!"

Heh, what a little rascal.

The brunette chuckled, putting an arm around Constanze's shoulder, and squeezed tightly, holding the smaller witch close. Akko felt a gloved hand snake it's way around her back and settle on her shoulder as Constanze did the same. One gloved finger poked her cheek. The small girl had poked her with her free hand and was now pointing at her.

"Me?"

The small witch nodded and pointed at the lights below before pointing back at Akko.

"You're saying I also did some of that?" That was sweet of her to say, but Akko really didn't. "Sure I helped out here and there, but in comparison it's like nothing, You did _wa_ _y_ more than I did. I was just..there, most of the time."

Constanze shook her head firmly, pointing at Akko again, but this time poking her in the chest. Her eyes staring determinedly at her red ones, boring deep inside as if trying to stare down any denial or resistance. Akko knew enough not to argue anymore at that point.

"Haha okay okay." Akko straightened herself out. " _We_ made it all possible. The two of us, you and me, me and you, both of us, together." Akko flashed a bright smile, appreciating the consideration her friend was showing.

Constanze in turn nodded happily. Well, as happy as Constanze could express.

The two of them went back to eating their snacks, and taking in the sights, arms wrapped around each other's shoulders and enjoying each other's company.

They were going to live this moment to the fullest while it was still here.

/-/

That's the last of them. All of the materials from the trip mines are now in your bag, just like I promised." From the grenades, the fuses, the wires, the gunpowder, and whatever else. Everything they had dismantled was now packed tightly in Constanze's belongings. Akko didn't know why Constanze wanted or even needed the materials for, but she wasn't going to question it. Some questions are better left unanswered.

The two of them were down in the hall, packing up shop and getting ready to depart. Well, one of them at least. Akko still had business to do down here. Constanze however, finished what she was brought here for. And as such, she had nothing tying her down here with Akko anymore. Constanze herself didn't know this departure was going to be for her, but Akko knew what came next, what she had to do.

It was time to say farewell.

It was time to say goodbye to their short little time together and go their separate ways. Akko still had stuff to do, places to explore. Constanze had her own things to do, that's just the way it was.

Akko helped Constanze organize her things, tools, and possessions with a heavy heart. The time they spent together was short, but it was fun. Akko couldn't say she regretted a single second, she would gladly redo and experience every moment again exactly the way it was.

She sure was going to miss that little rascal by her side…

After they finished organizing, they stood on the long hallway leading back to the tram. They both faced the direction of their perceived exit, ready to go back. Constanze stood ready to walk, Akko stood a few paces behind her, legs rooted to the spot.

The little witch gulped, her throat tightening up as she struggled to get the words out. "Everything's all set, you ready to go?"

Constanze nodded, completely unaware and began marching. The little German made it a few steps before realizing how quiet it was, how Akko wasn't with her. She turned halfway, peering over her shoulder back at Akko. Constanze gave a confused look and pointed her thumb in the direction of the tram.

The brunette shook her head, the smile on her face feeling heavier than anything she's ever carried in a while. "Not this time, Cons. I still have things to do here. But you don't, you've done what I needed you to do." Akko paused, relaxing her frayed nerves. "There's nothing tying you down here anymore, you're free to leave."

The little witch took a deep breath. "So, see ya later, Doc. I'm glad I brought you out here, it was fun...I had fun." She brought one of her hands up for a small wave.

The small girl's face was unreadable. She was looking down, the shadows of her bangs covering her eyes. When she looked back up, Akko could see the conflicted look on the silent girl's face. The uncertainty. She gaze a hesitant wave back, before turning around and walking forwards.

She only made it a few paces before she spun on her heels and barreled back towards Akko. "Wha-? Oof!" The force of a small girl running at full speed as well as the weight of the bag on her back tackled Akko full force. The brunette took a few seconds to realize what just happened, or what this all was. The brunette smiled down at the lump attached to her waist, Constanze's arms reaching around her back clutching her tightly. "Haha, I'll miss you too, Cons." Akko patted the smaller girl's head, stroking her hair comfortingly. "Take care of yourself." She could feel the other girl's body trembling, but this time it wasn't out of mock fear.

Akko stood at the door of the Hall. She could feel both her chest and throat tightening as she watched her partner getting smaller and smaller in the distance, waiting in apprehension, dreading the inevitable moment where she would no longer be able to see Constanze.

Finally, the little German disappeared as she turned a corner, taking the pleasant memories they shared with her.

So that was that.

Akko released a breath she didn't know she was holding, sighing wearily.

The little witch slowly closed the door and faced the bright hall. The bright lights were pleasant, bittersweet. It reminded her of Constanze and the pleasant times they shared here. Constanze saluting with her new gun drawn, them sneaking in the dark halls, Akko tricking Constanze, Constanze welding on a piece of equipment as Akko fiddled around, Constanze teaching her how to dismantle the mines, the both of them racing to disarm as many bombs as they could to beat the other, Constanze smirking as she pulled the lever to turn the lights on, the moment where they ate snacks together on the ledge overlooking the Hall.

Akko stared up to look at the ledge where they once sat mere moments ago. It was empty now. Heh, what did she expect? She should have expected to see it empty and lonely, yet it still hurt to see it. It only confirmed the reality and truth of the matter. Constanze was gone. She was alone now, once again.

The little witch walked past the hall, putting the bright lights behind her as she marched towards the darkness of the road ahead. There was no Constanze to follow behind her this time. She was by herself now, Akko must venture forth..alone.

 _Deeper into the abyss we go._

 **Note:**

 **Guys, I have a confession to make.**

 **Something important.**

 **Something relating to this story.**

 **I LIED! This was an Akko x Lotte fanfic all along! Mwahahahhaa! It was a trick, I deceived you!**

 **Nah, I'm just kidding. I was just really laying it on thick with Lotte's...stuff. The original ship still applies, though I could make Lotte a potential love rival if you want. In fact, I could make everyone a potential love rival.**

 **Even professor Finneran. Lol.**

 **(but please don't. Doing that sounds like a nightmare amount of work.)**

 **Anyways, welcome back to my lovely little uh...story I have here. sorry again for the delay. I really tried to get this done before Christmas but no, I couldn't. Then I tried to get it done before new years eve and no, I also couldn't. Then I tried to get it done before the tenth and nope. Had to do stuff.**

 **I think I've fully joined the dark side, I said I wouldn't try to upload monthly but its the second time in a row four weeks have passed since I update. Not to mention December marks the second month with only one update so yeah, apparently that's the way things are. I'm going to try and not upload monthly but at this point I think its too late to start lying to myself.**

 **But! Hopefully I can change the tide.**

 **A lot of page breaks and cut scenes in this chapter. Don't mind them, they are supposed to each be short.**

 **Also, something I feel like I should explain. The "German children will always be kinder" line Akko says. Some of you may not get it, but it's a pun. The German word for kids or children is "Kinder". Or last time I checked, it was. I think only the German audience(If there are any) would be the ones to understand it. Or you're a big fan of Germans, or you're a huge meme lurker that lurks a lot of memes. Anyways, this broadcast is for those that feel confused and don't understand what the heck Akko was talking about.**

 **And if you're wondering what the whole thing with the watch was...well I don't feel like explaining it. You either get it or you don't. it's inconsequential either way. But if it _really_ eats you up that badly that you just _need_ to freaking know like an obsessed person, then just..tell me. I'll explain it on the next chapter. Or just PM me or something. If you're really that desperate to know.**

 **Well I'm glad that I'm doing something that you like, jamame, thought I don't know what you're talking about. Different character interactions? Are you talking about me referencing events and conversations that happened in the past and adding it in to the present? Yeah, I like doing that when I can. Its fun.**

 **Queen Its good to hear you still like this story and even better that you notice the recurring theme I have with Akko. I really enjoy stories where a character develops over time and grows into someone better. Where the character actually takes something from what he's been through in the story. The typical heroes journey where they start as somebody, then the events of the story changes things, and in turn changes who they are by the end. Usually changes for the good. I don't know, I think I've been watching too many videos of movie interpretations. You'd be surprised how horror movies typically have that character growth/change aspect in them. Its all very fascinating. Except for the human centipede, I don't know _what_ that movie is about. And happy 11 days late new years eve to you too. Might be twelve days depending on when or where you read this.**

 **Anyways, I finally got this chapter out. it's hella long, probably the longest chapter I've written. So have fun with this, you guys. I'm gonna indulge myself in video games and some Black Desert online. Guess I'll see you all, when I see you. Later.**


	8. Chapter 8 A Tricky Carnie

'Well this looks lovely.'

After coming to terms with the loss of her most recent partner, the little witch ventured further into the darkness. Into the unknown.

After awhile the unknown quickly becomes known for it's increasing amount of desecrated areas. Evidenced by all the plaster still glued to the walls. And doors. Lots and lots of doors. She would spend countless minutes trying to open them all, see where they all lead and hopefully give Akko an idea of her surroundings.

Most of the doors wouldn't budge, even after slamming her shoulder against them. Attempting to kick the door down doesn't work either, and she made sure to kick the side of the door near the doorknob, right where the key hole would be. No matter what, the doors wouldn't yield and almost seemed like they were made of a completely different material.

Whatever. In the end, it doesn't even matter. There were too many doors in here, like an apartment complex. She had half a mind to think people used to _live_ here, but who in their right mind would live in this hole? So yeah. Too many doors, not a lot of time. And as such, she was going to twist the doorknobs to every door but won't do more than that to try and gain entry. If it was locked, it's locked. She was still going to try each door of course, but she was going to leave the ones that wouldn't budge alone.

It was a relief in a way, kind of like taking the choice out of her hands. That was a good thing, less decision making for her. She was going to proceed here with a "What can you do?" approach from now on. Any other day this would go against her determination to see things through, but she didn't come here solely to explore or unlock every door she could find. She also had to find a way up, and right now, that took priority.

Maybe some other day she could dedicate an entire night opening as many doors to her heart's content, but right now this was not that day.

Akko tried another door, this one dull and gray and blank with nothing but numbers marked on it with a rusted nameplate. It was bland and nothing special to look at just like everything else here. This place sucks.

The little witch twisted the doorknob. It wouldn't budge.

"It won't budge? Of course it won't budge. That's the story of this game, not budging." Akko gave up, sauntering off further down the hallway to try the next door. This one looked relatively the same but with a different number written on it.

'They sure went all out with designing this place.' Akko snarked. 'Couldn't they have decorated even a little to make it less...I don't know, gloomy?' Well she had to give credit where it was due, there were some potted plants here and there. But that was pretty much it. The fact that the plants hadn't wilted and withered away told her they were all plastic, but the bright green and brown colors clashed against the dark colors of literally everything else was definitely a sight for sore eyes.

The little witch turned the knob, yielding the same result. She simply shrugged and stalked off further the hall. At the end of the hall was a different door that marks the end of this hallway and the beginning of another one.

It didn't escape her notice how only those doors were the only ones that open. How the only doors she could go through were the ones going forwards, and none of the adjacent ones. It almost felt like she was being led somewhere, but that was crazy. As interesting as that would be, Akko didn't think the superstitious feeling held any real merit. Yes, sometimes she could trust her instincts, but other times they could be wrong too. Like the time she let herself be fooled by professor Croix which led to her questioning the only teacher and mentor who actually looked out for her ever since she enrolled. She let herself be led astray because Croix told her the words she _wanted_ to hear instead of the hard truth that professor Ursula gave. And that was enough reason for Akko to begin second guessing her hunches, at least the ones that made no sense whatsoever.

The door to the hallway exit clicked shut behind her. Immediately her nose picked up a scent of something..familiar. A distinct scent she hasn't detected for a long time.

'Don't tell me.' Akko turned around, nose twitching at the nostalgic smell. Her eyes narrowed. 'It is.'

Instead of another hallway filled with doors like she expected, she was standing in a room splitting off in four directions. Forwards, backwards, and left and right. The passage to the right was filled to the brim with junk and debris, so much that it filled the entire corridor. Junk like desks, drawers, chairs all hastily stacked on top of each other in a disorganized pile. Basically anything that could be found to use as some kind of barricade or something.

Moving all of that trash was out of the question. She didn't have the time or energy to surf it all out and just by looking at it, it gave the impression that the slightest disturbance could send it all crashing. Yes, it was that messy. Better leave it alone.

The passage to the left was equally inaccessible, but not because of some messy abomination. No, it as far more anomalous. Instead of a random collection of items haphazardly thrown together, the pathway to the left was blocked off by strange dark metal bars. All of them protruded from the ground straight to the ceiling, like a cage or a prison cell. The smell of rust and metal sifted in her nose as she stared at the oddity.

The way they were just left there, the very nature of their existence was unsettling. The bars just looked out of place and foreign. From the shape, the texture, the length, the appearance, the thickness of the bars, and the smell. It was clear that it didn't belong. At least, it wasn't intended to be there at first. Just being close to them raised a small cautionary flag in her head.

Those metal bars were erected for a reason, she just didn't know if it was for a good reason or a bad one. The bad vibes she was getting just from their appearance alone made her unsure. Was it to keep something out, or was it to prevent Akko from getting in? To limit her options?

She turned to the only direction she could go, An old stairwell that went straight forwards but also further down. It also happened to be where the familiar scent was coming from. The nostalgic smell of dripping limestone and, Akko sniffed the air, a heavy presence of water. Old, dank, musty water.

"Well this is going to be fun." Akko narrowed her eyes at the prospect, shining her wand down the steps. True to form, her light was being reflected at the bottom where the landing was. 'Gee, I wonder what that smooth reflective surface down there could be?' definitely not water she was smelling from all the way up here. She descended the stairs, scoffing all the while. 'Lets just get this over with.'

The lower she went, the stronger the smell of limestone and musty water became. She tested the water with the tip of her boot. It was plain water. It didn't look, feel, or smell particularly dangerous, but she knew appearances weren't everything. For all she knew it could be littered with microscopic bacteria or parasites, or be toxic or poisonous.

What could she do about it though? Those were nothing but speculations, of which she didn't have the time or resources to test. She sure wished she had a rat right now. So she could see if it would actively avoid the water or not.

She looked around, eyes narrowed into thin slits searching for a rat or a mouse or anything with a pulse scurrying nearby to be used as a guinea pig. 'There has to be something.'

Her eyes spotted a door, only this time, it's open. "Oh wow, a door that's _not_ already locked?" Amazing. How can she resist? The brunette skipped over to the door, opening it further and peered inside carefully before swinging it open.

It was some kind of staff room. There were desks, tables, and drawers where she assumed all the records and paperwork were stored. She traced a finger along the wooden surface of one of the desks, inspecting her finger and flicking off specks of dust.

The light of her wand reflected against a shattered mirror hung above one of the desk counters. Shards of the broken mirror strewn on top of the counter top along with a pristinely white sheet of paper. There were words written on it. "Hm? What's this?" Akko picked up the paper, indulging her curiosity.

[Jeff, welcome to the team! I'm sure the supervisor has already filled you in on the basics, but here's a few things you might want to know!]

The paper breaks off into a numbered list.

[1.) This cave is wet, cold, and filled with puddles, watch your step! 2.) Cigarette breaks every two hours. ( Most important!) 3.) The supervisor is a dick. 4.) You're gonna be going back and forth all day so be sure to memorize the code to section D. The code is 279-]

…

279 something.

Two seven nine what? The last number was blotted by the ink, she couldn't read it. "Oh well, let's just hope that I'm not going to section D then, wherever or whatever that is." Not like she knew where anything even was. Would it kill these people to leave signs up or something? Akko continued reading the note.

[PS: We've filled up some of the holes and gaps with a light mixture. The mixture was cheap and by all means not that durable, but it's strong enough to hold for us. Not like we're planning on staying here for long anyways. Still, be mindful of dark spots on the water. We don't want any more unnecessary injuries. Not after the last incident.]

Huh, okay. Be mindful of any dark spots. Akko stepped out of the room, shining her light and peering at the water.

Was he talking about that or some other body of water she has yet to find? There weren't any dark spots she could see, at least from where she was standing. "Well alright then buddy boy. I'll be sure to keep that in mind." The little witch retrieved the note, folding it up and tucking it in her collar. She didn't want the off chance of her stumbling into Section D and not have the note as a reminder of the clue. Even though she only needed to remember four numbers with the last being unknown. In that case she can always rely on guesswork. Still, she'd rather have the note. Just in case.

It never hurt to be extra careful. "It pays to be vigilant." or something like that.

Akko stepped into the water. The cool temperature of the liquid engulfed her boots, sending waves up her spine. The grimy wet texture of the water making her take heavy sloshy footsteps as the liquid resisted her leg's motions. Though thankfully, the water level only reached up to her shins.

'Thank goodness for mandatory uniforms.' The boots they had to wear were high enough that the water couldn't reach the uncovered skin of her knees and thighs. She wasn't going to be a happy camper if she got all wet here. Especially by this dank, questionable water.

The little witch trudged on, flashing her light in front of her as she searched for the way forwards. Brick walls lined up both sides and occasionally splitting off to make corridors that seemed to lead to dead ends.

The brick walls, the partially flooded room, the perpetual darkness, it was all so typical to what a sewer looks like. Her body involuntarily shivered at how gross the water could be if that were true.

'Just don't dwell on it.' she reassured herself frantically, her discomfort levels rising. Think about other things, literally anything else.' things like the law of conservation of energy, projectile motion, how to catch a hammer with your teeth, or how to properly pose for a head shot, the periodic table!

Her foot went through empty space where solid ground should have been.

"Wah-!" Her yelp cut off as cold water suddenly filled her mouth, some traveling down her throat and into her stomach. Her entire body lurched forwards as she plunged into the water and kept on sinking. Cold water engulfed her whole body as she closed her mouth and held her breath, writing and struggling from the shock of suddenly being underwater.

It was dark all around her, she couldn't see, couldn't tell which way was up and which way was down. Her head ached as she flipped and turned underwater, some water rushing up her nose and intensifying the throbbing sensation in her skull. From the corner of her eyes she saw a faint light below her. It was sinking and going further away gradually. A familiar glowing green light..

Panic surged through her as she realized how empty both of her hands suddenly felt. The little witch searched her waist and sash, then padded her chest and tunic just in case.

She didn't feel her wand anywhere.

In a rush, Akko immediately dove down to the depths, chasing after the glowing light. That must have been her wand! She must have let go of it in her panic and now it was sinking further and deeper into darker waters. That wand was her best chance of getting out of here, of navigating through these dark areas. She was not about to lose it and grope the walls all the way back.

The light continued to fade as it sank. Her ears felt a sharp pain from the sudden change of water pressure, which only intensified as she swam deeper. Akko pushed her arms and legs violently, adrenaline coursed through her veins giving her tunnel vision. That light was the only thing she could see, literally. It was still so dark underwater. Just how deep was this thing? She hoped to god she didn't stumble into an underwater cave river that led to a bigger body of water. Who knows what kind of magic creatures dwell here and were probably sensing her with all the commotion and noise she was making flailing around.

Her wand suddenly stopped moving, the light continued shining illuminating a small radius of it's immediate surroundings.

'it must have finally reached the bottom. Alright, with this it's only a matter of time before I finally get it back.' she thought to herself, relief washing over her. She could see small crab like creatures with hard shells on the edges of the illuminated circle created by the light of her wand. They were all moving towards it's center, gathering towards the light.

'Ew so there _were_ tings down here.' now that regaining her wand back was all but assured, she had the moment to think of less troubling thoughts. Like being grossed out by alien looking crab lobster things. The bottom was only a few yards away, she could reach if if she continued to swim straight down only a few more seconds.

A long dark mass darted through her vision in front of her, disappearing out of her field of view as quickly as it appeared. She felt the water below her shifting towards the direction of the mass, a slipstream effect that comes after a speeding object.

Akko froze. Fear gripped her heart as every warning bell and alarm suddenly went off within her. Her skin felt sensitive against the cold water, every hair on her body stood rim rod straight despite being underwater. She floated motionlessly, fear and apprehension overtook her body as she waited. Maybe if she stayed still it would go away, or maybe convince herself she imagined it.

No, no way she imagined it. She felt the slipstream, she physically felt the water shift and move as it passed. She saw it's silhouette as it passed in front of her. It swam right between her and her wand, the light gave her a darkened outline of it's body. And it was big.

Big enough to eat a person, bigger than any fish had a right to be. and considering Akko's small stature…

Akko felt the water shift once again, this time above her. The slipstream confirmed her fears. She was not alone down here, and she was _not_ imagining things. It also raised more disturbing questions.

How many were there around her? What else could be swimming in the dark?

Red eyes dilated, springing into action as she dove straight to the bottom. Her body moved on its own. Heart slamming erratically in her chest as more adrenaline raced through her bloodstream.

'I need to get out of here! something's in the water, something big and fast! My wand is my only chance, I doubt I could out swim whatever it is without transforming.' the best plan was to transform herself into a fish or an animal that can sure as hell swim faster than a person. Human beings definitely weren't made to live in water, hell, a goldfish could probably swim faster than her.

The little witch reached the bottom, swatting and batting away any crab like animals that were crowding around her wand. 'Move! Get out of here!' She grabbed a handful of the offending creatures and tossed them away. 'Shoo!'

Almost in response to Akko's frantic movements, the water around her grew restless. She could feel the water shifting and moving more and more frequently, getting closer each time.

By the time she cleared out most of the scavengers, the slipstreams and movements were close enough to be heard. She could _hear_ the sound of water rushing. Except it was a sound she heard in her bones.

Akko's lungs burned as she cleared away the last few bottom dwellers and gazed at her wand stuck between a crack between two large rocks. Not wasting a second, she shoved a hand into the slit, her fingers splayed outwards in a desperate attempt to reach and grab. The tips of her fingers grazed the handle, barely making contact.

'OH, COME ON!' Akko's cheeks puffed, her chest ablaze from the lack of oxygen. She could feel her time running short. There was no chance for her to swim all the way back to the surface to breathe air, it would take too long. And that was assuming she even made it _safely_ to the surface, there was no telling that she wasn't going to get attacked by whatever this thing was lurking around her concealed in the dark. She was lucky she hadn't been attacked already, but that only left her feeling even more apprehensive about the inevitable.

It was coming. She was going to get attacked. It was basically unavoidable at this pint. The question was the "when" it would take place. It could be 20 seconds from now, it could be the second she finishes this train of thought.

The bones in her hand shifted painfully when she tried to drive it deeper into the small crevice. Pulling out her fingers, she looked around for one of the small crab things. Some of them had long and thin pincers, so maybe…

Red eyes roved to the sea floor. There!

The brunette snatched the little critter, practically shoved it into the fissure until she saw the claw clamp down on the thin metal shaft of her wand.

'All right!' she raised the insectoid animal, bringing up the wand it was holding along with it. The metal shaft of her wand was out, now she just had to pull out the thick handle part, which was still stuck. It was like forcing a round peg through a square hole, but she knew it would come out, it was already loosening. It only took a little more time and effort, both of which she was already running out of.

The little witch wiggled the handle of her wand, shaking it and moving it around in an attempt to wring it free little by little. For every movement she made, every second she struggled, was a second's worth of air used up and gone. The pressure in her chest worsened and the tightness was suffocating.

'Just a little more, come on please!' She pulled the exposed part of the handle frantically, panic starting to set in as the tight pain in her chest became unbearable. Still, she held her breath. Willingly suffocating herself to buy more to time in order to prevent drowning. She knew she couldn't end the pain, knew she couldn't give in to her instincts to open her mouth for the sweet inhale. Because as soon as she does, she would be inhaling her lungs full of water. If that happens, she can kiss her friends and dreams goodbye.

Her ears now hurt so bad from the intense water pressure, she wouldn't be surprised if blood was leaking out of them, giving her an intense headache to go along with the slow torture of suffocation.

The handle gave way. 'There it is!' it wasn't lose yet, but it was almost there! One final tug should do it!

Both of her hands grasped the wand, fully prepared to give one final yank to set it free. It was time to put an end to this torture. 'Time to get out of here.'

Alarm bells went off in her head, even louder than before. She suddenly felt an overwhelming urge to move, to get out of the way, anything to not be in the spot she was right now. She leaned back and looked to the side.

Just in time to see several sharp jagged teeth barreling towards her, a pair of pale white menacing eyes glowered hungrily at her.

Akko gasped internally, kicking her feet and sending herself away from her spot.

The creature bit down ferociously at the exact place she would have been had she not moved. A second later and she would've been bleeding from all over, possibly in pieces.

The thing whizzed past her after failing to snatch her up with it's deadly Jaws. Her face got caught by it's massive tail, smacking her roughly on the cheek. Bubbles escaped as she exhaled from the force, being careful to only let air out and not let anything else in.

Akko felt the skin on her cheeks being grazed and pulled harshly along the rough and coarse texture of it's tail before her skin peeled away, leaving a thin cut on her cheek where it was scraped. She could see blood flowing freely out of the cut from the corner of her eyes.

Akko saw what looked like a bundle of cloth floating at her side. 'Is that..?' her witch hat. It must have gotten soaked and sunk down, in her panic she forgot all about it.

The brunette grabbed the hat, kicked her feet, and propelled herself back towards the glow of her wand. She doubted the thing was just going to stay hidden in the darkness forever.

The little witch yanked her wand loose, not bothering to flick away the crab thing still clinging on to it and aimed towards the sky. Her other hand held her hat firmly on her head.

'Metamorphie Fasciesse!'

A puff of smoke and the smothering pain in her chest and legs vanished.

Akko couldn't stop to feel the sweet sweet relief of being able to breathe again as she transformed into her shark form, making a beeline to the surface without missing a beat. She needed to get out of here, stat. Now that she was in shark form, she was able to sense things she couldn't as a person.

Her vision was improved. Shark eyes were different from a person's so she guessed that they are able to capture light easier. Her surroundings were significantly less dark, but another of her new senses was raising danger flags.

Other than a shark's enhanced night vision, they were sensitive to electricity. Specifically electric fields. Akko wracked her brain trying to remember the word she was looking for, it was something called "electroreception" or something. Sharks were able to feel electric charges that other animals were giving off. The slightest movement of a muscle creates a change in the surrounding electric field that sharks can detect.

It felt weird having an extra sense she normally couldn't detect. It was exactly like having a sixth sense, in every "sense" of the word.

When she transformed, her electroreception _immediately_ picked up a wild disturbance a little further behind her. She felt it get closer and closer by leaps and bounds and it's movements were _not_ hard to miss. It was wildly thrashing as it barreled after her, fully intent on sinking it's serrated teeth into something.

It didn't take a genius to guess what that "something" was.

Akko could feel the creature rushing to her at a dangerous rate. No no no! Even as a shark she still wasn't fast enough. It was going to close the gap sooner than she could reach the safety of the surface. She had to think of something.

Transform back into a human and fire every spell she has? Assuming she can even aim properly with her heart racing like a sports car, she doubted she could muster up a spell strong enough in the short window of time. Most of them would probably bounce off harmlessly, but if they didn't, anything less than a kill spell would not stop the momentum of a massive animal the size of a car that's already moving like a charging bull.

Her spells _might_ damage it, again, assuming that damaging it would be enough to stop it from tackling from the sheer momentum and gutting her alive in it's gaping maw.

Those were risks she wasn't willing to take. Not when her life was on the line. Any half cocked plan _will_ get her killed, she was absolutely sure.

Akko's mind whirled in overtime as she thought of a valid escape.

'Come on come on come on, think! What can I do?!' she could see the hole where she fell from. The surface of the water she had to break to be home free. Her new shark eyes were better suited in the darkness, which must be why she was able to see the top from a distance she couldn't even hope to see normally.

It was right there. So close.

So close yet so far away…

…

Wait. That was it! So close _yet so far away!_ She was able to see further in the darkness because of her new eyesight!

Sharks are adept at hunting even in the dark because their eyes can better take in light. That goes the same for some other species that regularly hunt in the dark. In order to be able to see in this void, their eyes would have to be much more sensitive to light.

What would happen if she were to flood this entire darkness with sudden blinding light? it's going to have some effect. It has to.

She was willing to bet on it. This time, it was a gamble worth relying on.

The brunette spun around and switched back to her human form, wand clutched in her hand. She raised her wand and uttered the spell in her mind.

Akko closed her eyes as brilliant beaming light burst forth illuminating _everything._

It was so bright that the light was going through her eyelids, making her see violent streaks of white in her closed eyes. She had to actually put a hand over them but it was still so bright that she could see the silhouette of the bones in her hand and fingers through her eyelids.

After the brightness receded, she opened her eyes again and shined a weaker light down below. She could see the shape of the creature bucking and thrashing wildly in place as if trying to shake off the temporary blindness.

Akko chose that moment to escape, transforming once again to a shark and high tailing it out of there. She neared the surface, putting the pedal to the metal and reached the top. She broke the water surface, feeling the air brush her sharks skin. She uttered the transformation spell again, turning into a bat and flying through the darkness of the tunnels once more.

She didn't stop until she could no longer see a single drop of water in a fifty mile radius.

/ - /

"Owowowow.." Akko hissed in pain as she applied alcohol to her cheek with cotton.

The rough texture of the creature's tail pulled at her skin like several tiny hooks. In the end, it left a tiny gash on her face where it made contact.

She wanted to disinfect it as soon as possible. A regular open wound normally wouldn't phase her, but this was an open wound she got while in the water. Who knows what kind of bacteria, waste, or chemicals contaminated it.

She still wasn't entirely sure if the water was actually sewage connected to an unusually large amount of groundwater which in turn connected to a river cave going to an ocean or something. Because seeing actual animals down there was weird and out of place.

And what the heck?!

Akko pulled out her note. The one she stole from the mine staff room. 'I thought the guy said they covered the holes up with a light mixture!' the people before her were unreliable and their methods more so.

'Saying they covered up the holes and then years later the hole gets progressively worse until it gets big enough and deep enough to float a boat in.' Akko grumbled uselessly, putting away the note after rereading the part she was looking for.

'They could have used a sturdier mixture that would last longer. Sure, it would be more expensive, but it would have made my life easier. Was that so bad?'

The little witch pulled up a shard of a nearby reflective window and studies her cut. It was probably going to scar. It was going to scab over and heal itself completely at best or leave a slight pink discolored scar at worst.

The little witch sighed, placing an adhesive bandage on the cut.

Man, she was going to have some serious explaining to do about why she suddenly had a bandage on her face when she appeared just fine earlier today. They were going to think she had an injury seemingly overnight.

'Well, I kinda did.' Constanze especially is going to be confused. The little German was going to wonder what the heck Akko was doing after they split up. 'Oh nothing much. Just getting lost and then having a swim and then almost drowning, then almost getting eaten. How about you?' Yeah, _that_ was going to be a fun conversation.

The brunette stood up, closing the first aid kit she was so lucky to find in those breakable glass cases. Those "emergency break glass" things, whatever those are called. Though her stinging elbow would disagree, after she used it to smash the glass just to get first aid to treat her wounds. Which ironically caused her more injuries.

"I better think of a good lie then. I still don't know how they would react." she wasn't sure what telling the truth would entail. Part of her didn't want to deal with keeping up a charade, but another part didn't want her friends to make a fuss about it.

 _Oh you mean the whole "almost dying" thing? Yeah, it would suck so bad that they would be worried._ Her annoying conscience piped up.

Shut up.

And another part of her was worried that they would make such a huge fuss that they might actually _restrict_ her from coming here ever again. Or take measures to watch her every move as a result. Like what Diana did with the whole Wagandea tree incident. All she did was scold and talk some sense into her but Akko wasn't sure someone like Sucy would be so lenient. At least at the prospect of losing her property, her "precious" guinea pig.

Akko rolled her eyes. Kinda sad how Sucy would be worried for her not as a friend, but as an owner. That's what Akko thought anyway. After all the tests and experiments, what else could she see it as?

And Lotte. Akko totally would have trusted Lotte with the truth and not interfere, until the whole argument in the library. The orange haired girl showed a new side of her there, and it opened Akko's eyes to the possibility of Lotte actually stepping up and going the way of Sucy.

If Lotte hadn't confronted Akko and stood her ground like she did, Akko definitely would just tell her the truth. But the argument in the library showed the very _real_ possibility of Lotte once again bucking up and fighting with Akko to stop her from coming here "for her own good" or "to prevent things like this from happening again." yada yada yada.

All in all, it was hard to predict what kind of train wreck would happen at telling the truth.

Akko stood up, dusting herself off.

'Lying it is then.' it would be a hassle to play a charade, but it would be even more bothersome getting in an argument with both of her teammates over this. This decision just happened to give less headaches down the road.

"Now, where am I?" Akko wondered, waving her wand around the room to look for any semblance of familiarity.

Akko had not been paying attention to where she was going when she escaped she just flew around in the dark as a bat, using the bat's echolocation ability to see in the dark so as to not smack face first against any obstacles.

Being in a panic induced state, Akko wasn't interested on where she was going, just that wherever she went would lead her away and into safety. She had just gotten out of a life and death situation after all. Anyone would get lost in the moment.

Well then, now that the adrenaline wore off she better start figuring out where she was. The little witch looked around, taking in her surroundings. The layout was familiar enough. Just the usual maze of doors and hallways with the occasional clutter being everywhere.

But something was different here. Akko roved her flashlight wand on the ground, sweeping over it.

There were candles all over the place.

The brunette took a few wary steps, pacing in a perimeter to check all around her. The candles were left on the ground and extended up and down the hall she was taking a break in. they were left and placed in random groups, all standing together in bunches. Groups of five, four, three, and even two candles all clustered together randomly throughout the floor.

But despite the randomness, she could see a pattern. The candles were all lined up near the walls. None of them were more than a couple of inches away from the nearest wall. Not a single one was placed in the middle of the hall where someone might step on them or knock them over while walking. And judging by the pools of wax on the ground, as well as the dried wax dripping on the sides, all of these candles were lit at one time or another but then got snuffed out.

"I wonder what all these candles are for.." Akko bent down, inspecting some with a questioning gaze. No way that one person did all of this, there was just way too many laid out and other people would have either stolen them or thrown them away. So the people that were here allowed these candles to stay, the question was why and what for?

Did a special event take place? A holiday, celebrations, birthdays?

'What kind of special occasion calls for a bunch of candles being laid all throughout the hallway? It already _looks_ like a major fire hazard leaving them out in such a public place where other people go through on a daily basis. Akko knew that if she tried the same stunt in the hallways of the dorm rooms the teachers would flip.

The brunette marched cautiously, keeping an eye out for any disturbances. Maybe if she kept going straight, she'd find something to point her in the right direction or something. Seeing all these candles everywhere was giving her the creeps. It reminded her too much of old abandoned church buildings for some reason.

"I'm not staying here any longer. I can't take this." Akko speed walked away from the hall, clicking the door open as she heard scuttling behind her.

Oh. right. She forgot.

Akko twisted halfway to face the crab like isopod behind her. Its beady red eyes stared up at her from the shadows of it's shell, the only part of it's face Akko could see.

Akko stared at it.

It stared at Akko.

Neither of them moved a muscle and neither made a sound. The two waited in silence for the other to do...what, exactly? Why was she staring at this thing, she had things to do.

"...shoo." Akko made a shooing motion with her hands, turning back around and walking through the door. The scuttling noise started again, surprising no one.

Apparently that lobster thing hid under her hat when it was at the seafloor and hitched a ride when Akko grabbed it. She didn't feel the weight because she thought it was all of the water inside of it. Either that, or Akko didn't notice or care in her panicked state. The little thing must have been cooped up in her hat as she escaped.

And as Akko very well knows, her clothes disappear when she transforms into an animal and then magically reappear when she switches back. Essentially the sea cretin went into the same magical pocket dimension her hat went when it disappears during transformation and then reappeared along with the rest of her clothes.

It has been following her around since then. Akko didn't know what to think about that. About a little crustacean following her around. Crustacean, isopod, whatever. There was just too many things going on right now and too many uncertainties with keeping a pet, especially one of this nature.

Akko shook her head. No, she wasn't about to delve into this. Maybe she'll consider having a pet at least at a better time. That thing was on it's own, if it continues following her around then whatever. Point is, whatever happens to it is none of her business.

A sharp piercing headache manifested in her skull. She buckled, falling to her knees as she brought a hand to her temple, trying to massage the sudden throbbing. It was so hot! Her brain felt like it was being boiled by it's own fluids! She bit down hard, screaming behind her closed lips.

Static filled her vision, like a corrupted video player. She grit her teeth as violent ringing erupted in her ears. Nothing she could do was helping the pain. Putting her hands over her ears did nothing to lessen the assault in her hearing. Slamming her eyes firmly shut did not stop the barrage of static playing violently and uncontrollably in her retinas. And no amount of scrabbling, scratching, and wringing could ease the pain in her head.

'What's...happening?' The little witch writhed on the ground, helpless, trying to ride out the torment.

Then almost as quickly as it appeared, it vanished. The headache, the static, the ringing. Everything. It was all gone.

Her body felt right as rain. No lingering pain or residual effects. It was as if all the pain she experienced never even happened.

Akko stood up, eyes narrowed suspiciously. "What the heck?" What was that just now? She never felt anything like that before and it just came out of nowhere. Was it her body's way of paying for how hard she's been pushing it? Lotte said something like that. Something about the body "paying for it in different ways." was this what she meant?

No, it doesn't sound right. If her body is suffering from some type of fatigue then why was she feeling completely fine now? The pain appeared and then disappeared completely. If her body was spent then she should be feeling tired consistently, not switching on and off between dying and light as a feather.

This had to be something else.

'Come on, get it together Akko.' She smacked her cheeks with her hands. She opened her eyes, determination shining through as she leered at her surroundings, taking in the orange yellow glow in the room.

'Wait, a glow?'

Red eyes snapped to her surroundings, astonishment clear on her face as she looked at the countless numbers of candles which were now lit. Their small embers casting flickering orange against the walls.

Every single candle around her was lit. orange yellow light clashing against the dark, some splotches of black remained on the ceiling and crevices where the candles couldn't reach.

'No way. Impossible. How could someone have lit all these candles so quickly?' There were too many, it just wasn't possible.

Walking forwards, the brunette could see words and markings on the wall and all over the floor. Some words were in English and some were using letters she's never even seen. There were symbols written on there too, again, symbols she never saw before.

Along with the markings and symbols marring the hallway, there were random dark splotches of color too. Is that..blood? Running across the floor and smearing the walls. The little witch gasped, covering her mouth with her hands as the metallic smell finally registered in her mind.

'This is wrong. This is all wrong! All of these weren't here before!' The words, the markings, the symbols on the walls, the blood on the floor, the candles! Where did they all come from?

Her pulse quickened, unease creeping up and growing with each second. This had to be a dream or a hallucination, she had to be imagining it all. Things don't just show up out of nowhere in the blink of an eye. There was no other explanation.

The loud static sound rang loudly once more. She couldn't tell anymore if the sound was real or just in her head.

She was running now. Full on sprinting down the hallway, pushing each and every hall door open that stood in her way, but each new hallway looked exactly the same as the last. There was just no end, no escape from this cult like den.

With each door she sprinted past, the surroundings became worse and worse. She could see blood practically dripping from the walls, slash marks on every broken furniture and scratches on the doors.

"hmm hmm hmm." A chilling voice hummed somewhere around her, resounding in the darkness and echoing off the blood stained walls. Despite it's calm tone, the sound rattled her to the bone worse than the chaotic ringing in the background.

Who was it? The voice was clearly of a young woman's. Another young teacher she never knew about? Another student? She doubted it was either of the two. Something about the voice, just humming like nothing was wrong. As if they felt right at home, like they belonged in this...this _shit!_

The humming soon turned into singing. The song sounded like a nursery rhyme, except in a language she wasn't familiar with. It didn't sound like any language she'd ever heard of, or any language that even existed at this point in time for that matter.

The voice continued to sing, progressively becoming louder, more distorted and twisted the longer it went on. Akko's eyes dilated into smell pinpricks as the soft and calm voice morphed into a hostile static rumble.

It sounded like it was singing through a really bad walkie talkie held up right against her ear. But there was still no one around her.

Several thunderous banging sounds could be heard as each and every door in the hallway swung open. The very same doors that wouldn't budge were now all hanging ajar, each one peeking into a seemingly dark void that Akko couldn't see into.

Loud guttural screaming and roaring came out from the now open rooms, reverberating in her bones and draining whatever courage and bravery she had left. Her knees shook, her legs feeling like jelly. It took a surprising amount of effort just to keep herself on her feet. Her throat was dry and she felt like fainting from the sheer amount of fear wracking her soul.

The screams, they kind of sounded..human. A very twisted roar of having their voice boxes crushed and distorted to produce such an ear splitting sound. It was animalistic and crazy, but still definitely human.

Akko's ears twitched, picking up yet another disturbing sound among the unnerving noises. There were choking sounds in one of the open rooms up ahead. The noise of someone having food lodged in their throat, struggling to breathe.

She _really_ didn't want to go towards it, but fear and dread kept her staying her course. Its not like she wanted to turn around and expose herself to this hell much longer either.

The little witch ran past the room, dread turning into horror as the choking sounds became violent furious roars accompanied with a rush of footsteps that weren't her own.

Akko bolted, willing her body to fly and break the sound barrier. She could hear as well as feel whatever it was chasing her, it's feet stumbling around awkwardly yet quickly in pace. It's wails growing more angry and desperate, taking short breaths in between only to yell even louder and angrier than before. It was less yelling and more of an animalistic howl of a bloodthirsty predator.

Akko kept her eyes forward, not daring to steal so much as a backwards glance.

The next hallway door was up ahead, anything that breaks her from the line of sight was a blessing at this point. She didn't know how long she could keep running at this speed. If the chase dragged on for too long, there's a chance she will be the first one to run out of stamina. She could _not_ let that happen.

The stomping and wailing behind was louder than before, it was gaining ground. Akko pumped her legs harder, she had to shut the door behind her before it closed the gap between them. The door was only a few steps ahead.

She reached out with her head, fully prepared to push past it and shut it closed.

Akko tripped, falling forwards with her hands stretched out.

No no no! Now was not the time to reenact the biggest horror cliché! Of all the times she could have tripped why now when she was actually running for her life?

The brunette tried getting up only for a sharp pain to roll up her body. "Ack!" an involuntary shriek tore from her throat. She looked at her legs where the pain was. She wished she didn't.

Both of her feet were severed completely from her legs at the ankle. Pools of blood grew where they separated.

'What..?' no..no way.' The little witch grit her teeth, raising her hand up to point her wand behind her. Her legs were out. If she can't run, then she was going to use magic to _boost_ her forwards!

Her hand dangled delicately by a shred of skin and dropped to the floor, falling limply. Her red eyes stared in horror as the light of her wand died uselessly, still being held by her bloody disembodied hand.

Her heart stopped. She stared incredulously at the bloody stump where her hand used to be. She swallowed the bile threatening to rise up in her throat at the whiteness of her bone jutting out grotesquely. "N-Noo!" Akko shrieked in fear and desperation as she turned back towards the door, crawling on her stomach, using her knees elbows, and forearms to push her now helpless body. Whatever was left of it.

'This. This can't be happening. This can't be happening!'

She could hear heavy foot falls getting closer and closer. Like a shark sensing blood, the thing let out a vicious roar as the foot falls beat harder and faster on the ground.

Tears fell freely from her eyes as the ground shook and vibrated against her body. It was close enough for her to feel it right behind her! 'I'm gonna die. I'm gonna die!' Akko choked out a sob. "Please don't let it end like this. Not like this."

With the last of her dwindling strength, Akko crawled past the doorway, rolled on her back and ruthlessly kicked the door behind her. The creature let out one final desperate cry, leaping off the ground in an attempt to close the gap before disappearing from sight as the door slammed shut.

As soon as the door banged shut, everything stopped. The voice stopped, the ringing stopped, and any lingering pain disappeared. Everything was back to normal and she was feeling absolutely as if the damning traumatic experience never happened. The panicked haze in her mind cleared as the adrenaline rush faded away.

She checked her body, staring at her feet and hands as she moved them experimentally.

They were still there.

Akko laid on her back, panting from the exercise. She laid her head back, resting it on the ground as she caught her breath.

She rested an arm arm on her eyes as relief flooded in like a deluge. "I never thought I would be so glad just to see my body parts where they belong." She really thought she was never going to see them again, that she had lost them for good and was going to live the rest of her life as a cripple.

Her mind wandered back to the sight of her seeing her bloodied stump of a hand, blood spurting as the arteries were severed. The sight was sickening and one that would never leave her memory. Seeing your own hand on the ground and the gory mangled stump left behind...yeah, that wasn't going to be forgotten for a long time.

"So what the hell was that? Hallucinations?" It felt so real. A vivid psychotic episode. She never knew any hallucination or breakdown that made her feel actual pain. It was just..so realistic. From the illusions she saw, the things she heard, the stuff she _felt_. It was all too real for her liking. "Am I going insane?" She just might be.

The little witch hoisted herself up. She only got a couple of steps before her legs brutally protested the movement. "Ow ow, okay. Nope, I can't do it. I can't even walk." Moving around was a big 'No no.' Apparently all that sprinting she did was the final straw, because her legs were sore and ached like a b- well, like _that_ , to put it lightly.

She fell against a wall, sliding down until she sat comfortably leaning against it. There was no other option than to just...sit here and rest until her body could move again without feeling like spikes were embedding themselves into her muscles.

'I wish Sucy was here. I'm sure she would have some type of concoction to make me feel better. She wouldn't leave a friend in this state, if not a friend, then as her personal plaything." Whatever, either one was fine with Akko.

A chuckle escaped her lips. "She definitely doesn't like it when her toys break." Akko said, smiling fondly as she thought about her friends.

The little witch grabbed her chest, squeezing the cloth covering her heart. When was the last time she saw either of them now? Yesterday? Hah, not that long ago, but it sure felt longer than that. Sure felt like forever ago since she last talked with her team, had real meaningful conversations with them. When the three of them did stuff together, before the Grand Triskellion..

Those times were fun, back when her goals and dreams didn't take up so much of her personal time. Like they do now.

Akko's shoulders slumped, she rubbed her hand with her fingers, caressing herself gently. Her eyes drooped, looking down and blocked by the rims of her hat.

What did they do the last time they were all together? What did they talk about? What did Akko say to them?

The memory of their last interaction was so 'run of the mill', so ordinary and unimportant. It was hard to remember because of how vague and insignificant it was.

"Haha.." Another somber chuckle escaped her. "Ironic then, that something so minor could suddenly mean so much to me. Can't say I saw this coming." Nobody could have, if they were in her shoes. It wasn't unusual for people to forget events in the past that had little value at the time. Nobody remembered exactly what was said in a conversation they had last week. It didn't matter because another conversation was going to happen the next day, and so on and so forth.

But now it mattered.

Now, the last interaction Akko had with her team might just be the last interaction ever. And that goes for all her other friends and family too, huh?

'What's going to happen to me? Will I see them again? I'm lost, I have no idea where I am, and I have no idea where I'm going.' There were so many twists and turns, Akko didn't know which one went where. Her best chance of going back right now was to wander around and hopefully stumble on to something that looked familiar. Either that, or find a map of this place or a sign or something.

The little witch calmed her frayed nerves. This wasn't exactly a normal situation, the status quo did not apply here. Her safety and well being were not guaranteed, and there was a real chance she might not leave this place.

She was scared.

That seemed to be a common occurrence lately.

She was scared. She didn't know what comes next, or what other incidents might happen after she gets moving again. For now she was safe, but she can't just sit here forever. She was going to have to get up on her own two feet and _make_ change happen if she wanted to reach the comfort and safety of a more familiar environment like Luna Nova. _She_ had to make a move. _She_ had set things in motion. And that means stepping up and facing whatever terrors lay waiting. Its the only way.

The only way.

It was just her. It had to be her. There's nobody else around that could help, nobody even _knew_ where she was right now, assuming they were even awake. Well, nobody but Constanze. But even then she wouldn't know about the dire situation Akko was in. No help was coming.

The realization seemed to finally sink in. She was by herself in this, just her and this carnival house of trials. She had no one to rely on, no one to turn to. There was no Lotte to support her, no Sucy to save the day with an innocuous potion, no Amanda to whisk them away from this place. Nothing. It felt like a thick wall separated her from everyone else.

She was truly alone. Whatever was left of her small smile faded away. Her shoulders shook, hands gripping the cloth of her skirt and uniform as she felt warm tears welling up her eyes. An intense sob creeped up her throat but she held it in, sniffing as she willed her jaw to clamp shut. Trembles wracked up and down her body more and more, getting stronger the longer she resisted. She couldn't control it.

Akko brought her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them securely in place. The little witch curled into a ball as she choked out a sob, her grief echoing off the dark walls going unheard. It didn't take long for the quiet sobs to become tearful wails and crying. Like a deluge after a broken dam, she openly wept, bearing her sadness and soul out in the open for...nobody.

Absolutely..no one.

Wiping her eyes, her sobs reduced to sniffles and occasional hiccups.

'What am I going to do? I'm in way over my head, just like all the other times I got into some kind of hijinks. But all those times I either had luck or had other people to help me.' and right now, she didn't feel so lucky.

Her drenched clothes and the bandage on her face served as a reminder. Her future was uncertain, much more so than all the previous adventures. And that terrified her.

For once in what seemed like a long time, she only had herself and her strength to rely on. She was her own pillar of support now. If she wanted to pull through this, it would be by her own will and fortitude.

She already established that, but still. It would be nice to at least have someone be here with her, even if they don't help. Just having someone else accompany here along the ride to stave off the loneliness would really be helpful for her heart and mind, if nothing else.

A scuttling noise reached her ears. Something poked and prodded her leg. The little isopod from earlier, it was trying to climb up her thighs. it's shadowed, bright red beady eyes staring up at her.

'This thing again. What does it want? Why does it keep following me?' Akko gazed at it with mild curiosity, her half lidded eyes still heavy from her tears. It's red eyes were bright and fierce, just like her own. They looked up at her, lingering, giving her a meaningful stare as if trying to convey something.

Akko couldn't help but feel a tug on her lips at how cute it was. Yes, it was weird, calling this alien looking thing with multiple jointed legs "cute". She never would have guessed the day that she would describe it that, but here it is. You never know where life takes you, apparently.

As weird as it was, it was true. She found the thing endearing how it was staring at her and trying to climb up her leg. It was acting like any other pet, not that this thing was her pet. She couldn't help but empathize with it. It's determination, it's strong will to look her in the eye and face her scrutiny head on.

This bottom dweller held so much of her own qualities, but given this situation, this shelled insect was doing a much better job of being Akko than she was. Look at her, she was currently crying and having self esteem issues while this little guy was giving her a stare down with fire in it's eyes.

The thought brought a smile to her face as she pet the small animal, stroking it's hard shell.

"You have some nerve trying to steal my identity, Mr. Crabs." Akko cringed. "wait no. I'm not calling you that." She'll think of a better name later. Akko never really was good at naming things.

She lifted the shell creature in the air, the underside fully exposed and it's spindly legs giving her goose bumps. Some of the pointy appendages grasped her hands, holding on to them tightly. Akko screamed internally, her skin crawling from the freaky sensation. This was going to get some getting used to, but at least she had a companion, of sorts. So she appreciated it's presence nonetheless.

Her new friend latched onto her arm, crawling onto her shoulders and up the back of her neck, causing waves of discomfort and awkwardness rolling through her body. It reached the top of her head, more specifically her hat, and settled there. it's legs ( more like claws) latched themselves tightly on her head so as to not fall off, making her shriek like a little girl in her head. _'This feels so weird!'_

Well, this little guy _did_ hitch a ride in her hat, maybe it grew attached to it or something?

Akko leaned back against the wall, this time her back was straight and her gaze was vibrant and piercing as ever. It was by no means a person, but just having another living thing keeping her company lifted her spirits up by a lot. Especially since Akko could see a lot of her own qualities in it.

She reached a hand up, patting her new companion.

"Thanks for snapping me out of my funk, little guy." She could feel the thing licking or chewing on the fabric of her hat. Akko didn't know what the heck it was doing. And she didn't care.

All that mattered was that she wasn't alone anymore.

 _Maybe her situation wasn't so hopeless after all…_

/ - /

"Left or right, what do you think?"

Akko stood, looking at a fork in the road. Or more accurately, loooking down two long hallways that were identical to each other. What was she supposed to do? She wasn't Sherlock Holmes. She can't use super detective powers to look at tiny microscopic signs to give an idea of where they would lead. It was like choosing between two blank pieces of paper. Absolutely nothing to go on.

She brought two fingers over her head, just letting them hang there. After a few seconds she felt claws grasping both of her fingers.

Ugh.

"That does not help me." She brought her hands up, grabbing her little parasite. Instantly the legs loosened themselves and she pried it off, bringing it in front of her for a heart to heart talk.

The multiple legs didn't even bother her anymore, you can only be creeped out by something so much before you got used to it.

And the fact that they've spent the last hour hanging on to her head might have something to do with it.

"We've already talked about this." she held him (because apparently it's a him now.) by one hand and brought two fingers up. "You grab one finger, _just_ one! This finger for right." She wiggled one finger. "This finger for left." She wiggled the other finger for emphasis.

One claw lightly tapped her left finger.

Akko's face brightened. "Okay. Left it is-" As well as her right.

Her face hardened, leering with impunity.

The claw on her left finger slowly retracted itself.

"That's better." Akko smiled and pointed down the hallway to her right. "Now, Avante!"

She felt her companion crawl back up to her head as she sprinted. One would think she should be more careful in her unknown surroundings especially considering the things she experienced, but the quicker she moved, the quicker she can explore and find the way to the exit, AKA back to the tram.

Akko stopped, coming across some winding stairs. Something other than running up and down hallways? What a fascinating experience.

Stepping into the first few steps with more gusto than she ought to, Akko began climbing up the stairs. She ran her hand along the tiled walls, some of her light bouncing of them creating a glare.

The little witch approached a landing, the start of a new floor so to speak. It was a lot more roomy than the maze of hallways in the beginning, but it held the same state of decay and abandonment. This place really did suck.

The brunette continued up the stairs, not sparing a glance backwards.

As she neared the next landing, she could see black bars _barring_ the next floor off.

She quickly turned around, not even bothering to look past the bars. 'Guess we're saving it here!'

Akko jumped onto the landing and into "Floor 2" as she just now nicknamed it. She walked onward, checking out the new environment. This place looked less residential and more workplace-y. Lots of desks and waiting chairs laid around, giving off an office building type vibe. Like she was an employee or a client waiting for an appointment. Those kinds of places.

It was definitely different than the apartment looking place she just came from. Though much like the "apartment complex", this "office environment" didn't escape the decrepit state of the previous floor. Lots of broken stuff everywhere.

The brunette came across a room separated by glass walls, or used to be. The glass walls were broken just like everything else. She stepped through one of the holes, walking up to a reception's desk. The counter that typically had a person behind it for you to ask questions or get directions from.

Something glinted behind the reception's desk in the corner of her eye.

She jumped over the desk and snatched it up, examining the object. It looked familiar..

'This looks just like...but it's not.' The little witch dug inside her uniform and pulled out the cubic map her mentor gave her. The design, color, and texture were identical except for the shape. Instead of being a cube, it was more like a flat square. 'They both have the same design, so does that mean there's a button here somewhere?'

she fiddled around and sure enough, she felt a button.

"Let's see what this baby does." Her finger pressed down and a click went off.

Blue words on a black background popped up at her. It looked like some kind of record or a log. Like a journal entry. It had a date, a title, and a header.

"Oh, so instead of a map, it shows a text log. Okay." She observed, scrolling up and down the blue wall of text.

'Let's see what secret's you're hiding.'

[Attn: Reception Desk. "Please refer all future registrants with complaints of anxiety, unease, agitation, or psychological problems over to the central branch. Our branch is already packed and running low on mood altering medications. With the recent disappearance of a few of our Sector D workers, and the other incidents happening higher up the tower, the spike in cases should have been enough.

This new wave of cases is something entirely different. At the current rate, it may be necessary to start sending patients back outside to be treated to the public hospitals." Doctor Legrado, NOL]

Sector D. If she remembered correctly, Sector D workers must have been the team that was working on the staff room where she found the note. Jeff's team or whatever. And the note did say something about an incident they didn't want to repeat, maybe that was it?

She stuffed both the devices back in her uniform.

So the people that used to be here were having problems of their own, huh? She suspected something was up when she saw those mines, but now it was as good as confirmed.

The little witch stalked further in, taking note of all the gurneys and machines plugged into the walls.

Another glint in a small room a few yards ahead, covered partially by a semi closed curtain. She jogged towards it, opening the curtain and seeing another text log sitting on a gurney.

The gurney was connected to a ventilator., one of those machines that help people breathe…

Yeah, she didn't want to dwell on that.

Click!

["The patients are becoming increasingly combative. The mood altering medicine don't seem to be effective enough. Their mood changes, but then go right back to being anxious the next day bordering paranoia. The pills seem to only be treating the symptoms of some kind of outbreak, but not the cause.

We've started using sedation methods along with the mood altering pills, but even that temporary solution won't last forever.

Joe has been bitten three times by patient nine, whose unease and psychosis only worsens by the day. Patient nine is not the only whose condition isn't improving. I'm starting to be afraid we won't have enough staff to look over any more influx of patients." Nurse Gwen, NOL]

Sounds pretty damning. 'Psychosis huh?' Akko never had a problem with her mind that wasn't caused by ingesting Sucy's potions or some kind of psychoactive drug so she wouldn't know anything about- an image of an orange yellow hallway filled with candles flashed in her mind.

Oh, right…

Akko turned the device off and stuffed it in her uniform. She looked at her surroundings, the cabinets, an eye test, anatomy posters, the ventilators, the broken pipes in the ceiling. She didn't want to be here anymore. There was nothing left to see, she didn't wan to see anything else.

Her companion climbed off her head and nestled on her shoulder. She held two fingers in front of it, waiting for a response.

'I guess we're moving on now..'

/ - /

One thing she didn't expect to find here was yet another tram station. No, it was not the same one she took a joyride in to get here. Well, for one thing this one looks like it's seen better days. Akko fiddled with the controls and was able to power it on, so it still worked. But yeah, the outside was wrecked and didn't look stable at all.

'Still though, wonder where it goes?' Not that she was curious enough to find out. She didn't have the time or luxury to be curious about that.

…

But she _was_ curious enough to read notes.

"Hello there." Akko bent down, picking another text log.

Click!

[Attn: Maintenance. "We fixed the issue with the control grid but now the auto pilot is fried. We have to haul a bunch of equipment and supplies for the research teams upstairs and that means the tram has to deliver them all overnight.

We need a new tether for the car in Tram 2B. Something's gnawed straight through it and now the car can't move. I don't know _what_ the hell kind of animal can chew through several inches of steel cable or _why_ , but if we don't get that pain in the ass fixed by tomorrow, it's going to jam up the whole system."]

Akko looked back, shining her light on the busted car. So this leads further up the tower huh? She'll have to make a mental note to visit "Tram 2B" Later.

She tucked the text log, securing it in her person.

Something about the stuff she's seen here was weird, to say the least. From the equipment she saw, the logs she read, and the weapons earlier. These people didn't sound like witches or wizards or even part of the magic community at all.

What were they doing here then? Wasn't this territory still part of Luna Nova, a magic school? It's pretty weird how a bunch of people outside of the magic community were hanging around in a tower still technically under jurisdiction of Luna Nova. And they were using these "text logs", as Akko labeled them as, that were similar to the map professor Ursula gave her. It wasn't unusual for non witches to use store bought magic items so clearly these people knew what they were getting into and didn't just stumble into things.

Did Luna Nova just allow these people to stay here or what? She _really_ wished she read up more about the history of this place. She didn't remember reading anything like this taking place in the tower.

As soon as she gets out of here, she was going to camp in the library and read every single book about the subject. Maybe then things will start making sense.

Or just have Lotte do it for her, whatevs.

"Come on, crabby." She called, ducking under a low hanging sign.

Her little minion scuttled hurriedly after her. She was no longer carrying it on her head, shoulder, or any other part of her body. After a while it got tiring. She didn't know what she was thinking letting it sit on her head while she explored. She didn't know how long she was going to take to find a way out, so she really couldn't afford to lose precious energy carrying it as she walked.

Squeezing through a crack of a semi open bulkhead door, she spotted something interesting sitting in a dark corner. "Oh wow, is that?"

An empty suit of armor. Well, parts of it were missing and there were scratches and holes as well as slash marks at random areas, but still. She marveled at the western antique, it wasn't every day she saw a medieval suit of armor.

Being from the east, she saw a lot of samurai armor and swords in museums, but not a lot of western knights and medieval garb. There was even a thin sword lying on the ground next to it.

She flipped the helmet mask and stuck her wand inside, trying to see what the interior looked like.

Suddenly she felt a violent pull from her wand as it it was forcing as much magic outside of it as possible. She could feel magic being sucked out of her through her own wand like a straw. "W-what the!"

Akko instantly tried to yank her wand out of reflex, but it was stuck. It wouldn't move.

The little witch used her hands and feet to push herself off the suit of armor, but it wouldn't give. It was like trying to force two magnets away from each other! Two _very big_ and _very strong_ magnets.

More and more magic continued to pour out rapidly by the second. She began smacking and punching the suit of armor with a free hand out of panic. She could _not_ let this happen! This was going to wreak havoc on whatever magic reserves she had left! If that happens…

If that happens she might not have enough to go through the night and resort to staying for who knows how many days to replenish what she lost.

"Rrraaargh!" Using every ounce of strength she had, she grasped her wand with both of her hands and pulled.

Her arms and muscles burned and screamed in protest. It all went unheard. She ignored the strain in her muscles, and pulled harder. Ignored how her arms felt like they were going to be pulled from their sockets. 'Just grit your teeth and bear with it!' She was not going to stop unless her arms broke or her wand goes free.

Then as if a switch was flipped, the leeching of her magic stopped.

"Woah!" The brunette flew off the suit of armor from her own force and fell roughly on the ground. The back of her head burned intensely as a sharp pain shot out. She must have landed her head on a rock or something because she rubbed her head and felt a warm moist sensation as well as a delicate sting on her head where she touched.

She drew her hand in front of her and saw blood smeared across her palm and fingers. Some dripping off the sides. 'You're kidding...'

The delicate throbbing on the back of her head really hurt, it was going to be a royal pain to douse the wound with alcohol in order to disinfect it.

The little witch hoisted herself off the ground and pulled out a roll of her spare bandages. She didn't have any alcohol with her, so this patch job is going to have to cut it until she could find some.

She bit off a length of bandage from the roll with her teeth, she brought the bandage on her forehead, preparing to wrap it around.

Creak.

Her hands stilled, all of the pain in her head forgotten as she froze, blood running cold as her body went full alert.

Creeaak.

Red eyes hovered to the suit of armor slumped against the wall. Her heartbeat sped up slightly. Unease settling in.

She had to be imagining it.

The armor was sitting in a different position than how she found it earlier. Completely different, so different that it was impossible to be accidental.

 _Creak!_

The metal creaking sounded like a megaphone inside a soundproof room. The little witch sat helplessly on the floor, staring in apprehension as the suit moved. She shakily got on her feet, preparing to bolt at the first sign of hostility.

'Okay, calm down. Calm down. Just because a suit of armor moved doesn't mean it's automatically hostile. This is not Appleton Academy. Who knows, maybe it will be subservient like a Golem being summoned.' She could see a faint glow emanating inside it's chest from the open face mask Akko had flipped up earlier. Her magic must have been taken and used to power a rune inside of it like a typical Golem spell.

The glow coming from the armor turned red as it stumbled to it's knee, picking up the rapier beside it.

That doesn't look good..

The little witch turned tail and ran, it wasn't her job to deal with this crap.

' _That's right, run away. That's all you ever do.'_

Akko stopped in her tracks just a few paces shy from the room's exit.

' _For all the talk you do about improving, you sure are doing a horrible job at it._ She scolded herself, her cowardice. _Didn't you say growth happens by overcoming obstacles? Didn't you say you can't rest easy when you don't put your all in?'_ The voice sneered. ' _Well what do you call this! And you're so wound up about being dead last all the time, you have no right to complain if running is all you're good for! Just stay being the bottom dweller that you are._

The voice giggled mirthfully despite it's scathing words. _'Like that new friend of yours.'_

That was it. Akko swiveled on her feet, eyes blazing and fear completely forgotten. Oh she was angry at the verbal beat down alright, but it was an anger she could appreciate. It snapped her out of her fear. Anger beats fear all the time, as some would say.

And besides, she didn't exactly disagree with the tirade that she got. It was absolutely right. She had to stand her ground. She wasn't going to improve by running away from her problems right off the bat without even trying to overcome it.

She had to at least try.

And it might be a good idea to take care of this problem while it was still stumbling around instead of letting it loose.

Akko picked up a sword laying nearby, it was shorter, but it was the perfect length for her height. Any longer and she would have weight and balance issues.

She brandished her blade and readied her wand. "I think it's about time I start winning these fights for a change." A burst of magic gathered at the tip of her wand, glowing restlessly.

It charged, sword poised to strike. Three bursts of magic shot out of her wand, each one finding it's target. It barely made it flinch, bouncing off the armor and only leaving small dents.

She rolled to the side, ducking under an overhead strike and ran past the towering figure. Akko aimed her wand at the armor's exposed back. 'The first three shots were too weak, so let's crank it up a notch!'

The brunette fired off a much stronger spell, hitting it's target dead on and detonating on impact. Dust and dirt billowed, kicking up and creating a mass of cloudy smoke from the small shock wave of the resulting blast

Red eyes narrowed, brows furrowed as she listened for the slightest sound of clanking metal.

A metallic shift to her right. She turned to the side and brought her sword up instinctively, blocking a swing from above. She pushed the other sword off and jumped out of the way to dodge any follow up strikes, hearing a metallic ring of a sword impacting the ground behind her.

Akko jumped out of the smoke, the suit of armor emerged from the dust cloud following her. She could see a slightly larger dent on it's back where her spell hit now that she could see clearly. 'So that's all it did huh?' That spell was actually the strongest she could make it. She was still so weak.

The knight dashed forward, appearing in front of her almost instantly. She swung her sword in a panic. It parried, bringing it's blade down in retaliation which was blocked by her own weapon. It brought it's blade down again and again, pounding mercilessly at her defense.

Her knees buckled and her arms burned holding her sword up to block the onslaught. The weight of each strike forcing her back and lowering her closer to the ground as her legs began giving way. She could not last any longer.

Her opponent brought it's sword over it's head, intent on hammering it down once more.

The sword came down like a guillotine.

The little witch tilted her sword as the blade crashed into hers, igniting sparks as it slid harmlessly along it's length beside her. She twisted in place, using the momentum of her spin to deliver a stab at it's chest, staggering it.

Akko used the moment's distraction to follow up with her own barrage, swinging and slashing at the chest plate and taking a swipe at it's kneecap before being forced back by a swing aimed right at her face.

It charged once more, hacking it's blade at her with great fervor. It was probing and testing before, but now it crashed into her like a truck. It's swings and movements were now much faster and stronger. She actually _felt_ the force of each hit as she parried, and every time she blocked was like trying to lift a small car off her. It took all she had just to block and parry, there was no time or opening to counter attack. Akko was purely being forced to defend.

Akko parried a strike mere inches from landing on her throat and fired a spell on the ground between their feet. The blast launched her body back as well as disorienting her foe, giving her much needed breathing room.

The little witch panted heavily, her sides were beginning to feel the exhaustion. The more this fight draws out, the more tired she becomes and she's fighting an opponent that literally can't get tired. The odds were stacked against her—

She swung her blade viciously in front of her, meeting an attack halfway that would have carved her torso. Akko deflected another swing, using her sword to redirect the momentum of the blade elsewhere. A metal fist landed squarely on her cheek, making her flinch. A kick drove into her stomach while her guard was down.

Akko screamed inaudibly as she clutched her stomach, struggling to breathe after getting the wind knocked out of her. She crouched, writhing in place as she choked on air.

Another punch landed brutally on her head, forcing her face down even lower and disorienting her even more.

She saw the tip of a blade going towards her face, she blocked it at the last second. Akko swept her weapon wildly at the knight, disregarding her guard and safety. Her defense didn't matter, all she wanted was to get this crazy guy away.

Her attack hit, forcing her foe to block.

She swiped a few more times, each one getting parried and blocked before jumping back to dodge a counterattack targeted at her face.

She landed on her feet a few paces away. Her eyes widened as she saw her bangs falling off as if they were cut. "Huh? Ack!" Akko yelped as blood suddenly spewed out of her forehead, getting on her eyes. She tried to wipe the blood away before realizing her fatal mistake.

Akko forced her eyes back open through the veil of blood just in time to see the knight had already closed the distance, the glow inside the armor making it appear to have smouldering red eyes. It crouched low, extending it's arm from it's side to deliver a swing at an angle from the ground up towards her body.

There was no time to think, she tried to bring her sword up in front of her. The impact hit.

Akko screamed in pain as she fell to the ground. Her sword shattered, bits and pieces flying through the air and fell to the ground with her.

She clutched her chest, trying to stifle the sweltering heat on her skin by applying pressure. Thanks to the sword taking the brunt of the impact, the cut wasn't so deep. But it didn't stop it completely. There was a clear line where the sword cut her, blood seeping out of the wound. Adrenaline must be pumping hard through her veins, because the pain she was experiencing was not as bad as it should have been. It was smothering any sensation of pain, dulling it in favor of keeping her alive. Though, just because it was dulled didn't mean it took the pain away completely. It still stung worse than anything she's ever felt.

The little witch swiftly brought her wand out, transforming her witch hat into a line of cloth and used magic to tie itself around her chest, not taking her blood soaked eyes off of the metal menace.

She got to her feet, readying her wand. She was not going to win this. It was time to run. She tried to defeat it, and clearly failed.

Her broken sword lay in pieces on the ground.

The knight dashed towards her once more.

Akko conjured magic at her wand, using the temporary energy to strike the incoming blade away, parrying it.

A flurry of jabs sailed past her head. Her heart raced as her body worked overtime trying to dodge and predict one stab to the next. She parried one heading straight for her eye, dodged the next, and blocked another. ' _Way_ too close!' Her wide eyes stared at the sword she narrowly dodged, some of her hair getting caught as it grazed past.

Her foot stumbled on a ceramic dish. She hastily kicked it up and caught it on her free hand and threw it at her opponent, flying towards the helmet.

It tilted it's neck, dodging as the plate whizzed past flying in a wide arc behind it before crashing into a wall and breaking into pieces.

Akko used the moment's distraction to aim her wand to the ground and fire a burst of energy under, propelling herself in the air, allowing her to flip over the imposing suit of armor. It took a swipe at her but missed.

The little witch landed on her feet and ran, making a beeline for the exit. Akko took a glance back, seeing it rearing it's sword like a javelin. Any other day she might have scoffed at the idea of throwing a sword like it was a spear, but not today. After fighting that thing, she couldn't afford to be skeptical.

The brunette leaped forwards on her hands, pushing herself off the ground and flipping into a forward handspring as she dodged a sword that would have skewered her guts to the wall had she not acted. The metallic ring of the sword embedding itself into the wall rang in her bones.

'Oh shit this guy's crazy!' Pardon her language, but this wasn't exactly a calm and normal situation! Tensions are at an all time high!

Akko used the momentum as a boost, the hunk of metal already pulling out the sword from the wall and throwing a wide slash in her direction.

Akko turned on her heel, her wand glowing ready to intercept.

"Agh!" She blocked the attack, but the sheer force behind it was too great and her strength was dwindling. The bones in her arm creaked under the strain as the force of the blow tipped her off balance, sweeping her off her feet as she fell on her back.

The knight was already on her, looming over her sprawled figure with it's weapon raised high.

Akko didn't waste a second as she kicked both of her legs up, somehow timing it so that the impending blade caught the thick heel of her boots.

The sword flew out of it's grip, sailing straight up in the air. It craned it's neck up, seeing it's weapon out of it's reach. It grabbed Akko by the sleeve and collar and flung her body over.

"Woaahhh!" The little witch flipped and turned several times in the air before smashing her back on the hard unforgiving ground once more. Her wand landed just out of arms reach. She frantically made to grab it.

A surprised yelp escaped her lips as two cold heavy steel sabatons stepped on each of her wrists, locking her in place.

She looked up just in time to see the knight swing it's blade down in an arc making a line straight for her neck. Her fingers scrabbled even more desperately, she felt the tips of her finger make contact with the hilt of her wand. She felt herself using magic, she didn't know what. Just anything! Whatever spell that can save her from being decapitated!

Red eyes shut as she instinctively tried to curl into a ball.

A puff of smoke and a sound of breaking steel. Huh?

She poked her head out, seeing the blade of a sword broken in two pieces. The top half spinning harmlessly in the air as it broke off and fell to the ground.

It broke after hitting her shell. Akko had transformed herself into a tortoise in her panic and hid inside her shell, preserving her life and breaking her opponent's main weapon in the process.

"!" She transformed into a mouse between it's feet and bolted, running into a small crevice in the wall where it physically couldn't chase after her. She looked back, seeing the knight standing up straight, just standing there.

It looked at it's broken weapon, then turned it's helmet in her direction, it's ominous gaze striking an unwelcome feeling in her heart.

For now, she was safe. That fight was over and done with and she successfully escaped the deadly confrontation with her life, somehow.

She just hoped that will be the last time she ever cross paths with it tonight.

/ - /

"Akko?!" Lotte gasped, running towards her, wrapping Akko's arms over her shoulder. She could barely walk. It took almost all of her energy to not pass out on the spot.

"Akko! Akko, what happened to you? There's a gash in your cheek, and bloody bandages on your chest and head!" Lotte took in Akko's bloody and torn appearance, worry clear on her expression as she saw the state she was in. "No, first we need to get you to the infirmary."

The bespectacled witch wrapped her arm around Akko's waist, lifting her body up slightly to make it easier for her to walk. "They'll have experienced and professional witches there that can look over your injuries. Your..injuries."

Lotte's face seemed to pale when she saw all the blood that was outside of Akko's body. Yes, that would be a cause of concern wouldn't it? Akko didn't think much of it at the time, but when she got these wounds she was busy thinking about other things. Like surviving.

It was only now that she realized just how battered she was. The bandage on her cheek was halfway loose, revealing the cut which was apparently bigger and much _deeper_ than she first thought. And all of her bandages were soaked from the bleeding she covered.

Her clothes were damp where she got cut across her chest, not to mention her face probably looked just as bad with the dried blood from the cut on her forehead.

All in all, pretty gruesome to look at. She needed a shower.

The brunette cringed at the idea. 'That reminds me, I still need to disinfect most if not all of these wounds.' That was going to sting so bad.

Akko's energy ran out, collapsing completely on Lotte's arms. She was really tired, her consciousness was gradually slipping. Her eyes felt soooo heavy.

Lotte must have noticed her going completely limp. "Akko? Hang on, just stay awake. We'll get you fixed, I promise. Just stay with me, please! Argh if only Sucy was here right now. Someone, help!" Her teammates voice was so hoarse, she sounded genuinely concerned.

Despite how exhausted she felt, Akko still found it within herself to smile. Lotte was such a nice girl...is. Lotte _is_ such a nice girl.

Damn it. The brunette coughed, the stinging on her chest making it taxing to breathe.

Akko willed her mouth and lungs to work one more time. "Lotte." she croaked out. Her voice was barely audible, a testament of how weak she felt. "Lotte. Put me down. I need...a break."

"No! You can take a break after you're treated. You can have as many breaks as you want after that. We just need to get you patched up first, okay?" Lotte sounded desperate, like she was reassuring herself that what she said would come true.

"Lotte please. I promise...I'll be fine." She was tired, not dying. Akko was pretty sure she wasn't going to die after enduring all these injuries for so long.

…

Pretty sure.

Her teammate seemed to disagree. Lotte's eyes shimmered behind her glasses, her face looked to be on the verge of breaking down. "Akko..." She spoke her name with a deep frown, unable to reign in her feelings. _Oh for the love of-_

"Just do it." She wheezed, pain rolling somewhere in her body.

Her orange haired friend wiped her eyes and sniffed, finally giving in. "...Okay." The shy witch slowly sat Akko against a wall, kneeling in front of her to tend to her injuries. She delicately tightened her bandages and applied whatever healing magic she could. There was no one that heeded Lotte's earlier call for help. It was late, they must have been all asleep still.

Leaning her head back, Akko let out a satisfied content sigh. "Lotte." Her voice was a light whisper.

"Yes, Akko? What is it? Do you need anything?" Lotte's response was immediate. The girl looking like she wanted to touch her, but didn't want to damage or hurt Akko's body any further. Akko felt her spirit lift at the innocent spectacle.

 _Never change, Lotte._

"I just...wanted to say sorry, for...everything." Lotte perked up in an instant after that. Concern and panic coming back full force.

"W-why are you saying that all of a sudden!" The girl sat up, inspecting her body from head to toe, checking for any more fatal injuries she might have missed. Fear pooled into her eyes as she stared into Akko's as if confirming that her leader was still with her.

oh. that did sound kind of bad. Made it sound like she was making peace with herself before passing on. Well to be fair, she kind of was. The "Making peace with herself" part, not the "passing on" part.

Akko wanted to lay it all out there with Lotte now that she was finally back. Now that she had the chance to before it could get taken away again.

Clang. Clang. Clang. Clang.

A metallic noise went off somewhere in the darkness of the hall they were resting on. It was too far for her eyes to see, but close enough to be heard. What could be making that noise at this time? Was someone moving pots and pants around this late at night?

Clang. Clang. Clang. Clang.

The noise drew closer. It sounded...familiar. "What's that noise..?" She whispered to her partner, who was still inspecting every inch of her vulnerable body.

Her friend's glasses stared up at her in confusion. "...What noise?"

 _Clang. Clang. Clang. Clang._

Lotte couldn't hear it? It was loud enough to practically be right next to them now. Surely, she wasn't imagining it. She could feel and hear it reverberating on the walls she rested against, so the sound was _physically_ there. Except Lotte couldn't hear it for some reason, wasn't affected by it. Almost as if she isn't there…

"Akko?" Her friend looked at her in confusion, still completely oblivious to the noise. "What's wrong?"

Akko felt her stomach tighten. Wait, how did she get here? Where did she go after escaping that _thing_? She had no memories of actually _finding_ her way out. She was still lost as far as she could remember.

Akko felt her stomach drop, blood drained from her face as the realization struck her.

 _She never escaped._

 _ **CLANG!**_

She willed her sleeping eyes open. A dark glove filled her vision reaching for her face. Akko screamed.

Magic shot out of her wand, searing hot violent streams burst out like water out of a water hose straight into the walls leaving large scorch marks where it hit. Her armored assailant jumped back, evading her surprised retaliation.

Akko shakily scrambled to her feet, running down the hallway from that thing. 'No no no! I am _not_ doing this again!' She ran, knocking anything and everything she could reach to slow down her tormentor. Bookshelves, desks, chairs, drawers, anything!

She reached a raised platform with numerous large barrels. She got up and one by one, she kicked them all down. Large barrels rolled and tumbled down the hallway behind her. 'That oughta slow it down!'

Akko closed a heavy bulkhead door with many locks in place. After locking every single deadbolt she could see, she took off, not trusting the door to hold despite it's weight and the many locks. She could already hear loud banging of the bulkhead giving way as she passed through five more doors.

Akko locked her sixth door behind her, looking around the room for an alternate route that wasn't so obvious. She couldn't keep this chase up forever, she needed to juke this thing. If she kept running in a straight line, it was going to keep pursuing her until she got caught.

The brunette spotted a partially open wire mesh on the ground to her left. It was hidden inside an alcove which she wouldn't have found had she not been looking. It was semi open like a sewer lid, except of it leading to the sewers, it lead to the vents.

Or a ladder, apparently. Akko saw as she pulled the wire mesh open fully. There was ladder just waiting there.

"How convenient."

More and more bangs were heard, each one getting louder and closer as more and more doors were smashed right off their hinges. Akko suspected only a few more doors were standing between her and her pursuer.

Akko got on the ladder, carefully closing the wire mesh back on, concealing her escape.

The little witch descended down the ladder, making fifteen or twenty steps down before she heard the final door getting smashed open. Loud and fast footsteps continued running, getting more and more faint as the distance grew.

Akko breathed a sigh of relief. She brought her feet off the rungs of the ladder and placed them on the sides, sliding down. Her eyes closed blissfully, the breeze cooled her body and was a welcome feeling compared to the torment she kept on receiving.

She touched down, reaching the near end of the ladder. The brunette jumped off, touching the new ground of...wherever _this_ is.

She traced one finger on the dusty ground, bringing it up her tongue and giving a tentative lick. She clicked her tongue delicately like a connoisseur. It tasted like dirt. Why did she do that? That was really gross.

The connoisseur witch spat on the ground, ridding her taste buds of the dirty sensation.

The brunette looked at her surroundings. If she expected a new _innovative_ and _exciting_ room, then she would be disappointed.

Akko stared down another corridor, except it was just that. There was literally nothing else. No doors, no items, no clutter, no furniture, no mess. Just...two walls on either side with a few arches and pillars spread evenly throughout the corridor.

Akko marched forwards, her wand shining the way. Her wounds ached as she walked. The cuts stung pretty bad, but thanks to the makeshift bandages, it smothered the sensation. Now instead of feeling the stinging pain constantly, she could only feel the sting whenever she moved (which was always.) it was almost like she was numb to the pain.

As long as she just ignored it, she could live with it. Her body actually felt a little energized thanks to the little nap she apparently took.

She still couldn't believe she fell asleep, and dreamed about her escape too! She must have passed out against a wall somewhere along the line. She was lucky all that racket actually woke her up before the suit of armor could get it's way.

'That was definitely a close call.' Now I just need to keep getting lucky and—

The sound of mumbling echoed down the corridor.

The little witch immediately killed the light and crouched low against the wall, listening for the sound.

The mumbling continued for the next few minutes, Akko stayed still, waiting for something to happen. Nothing did. It was just the mumbling sound, nothing else.

Akko switched the light back on, intending to investigate. The mumbling became more and more coherent the further into the corridor she walked. It sounded like the muffled voice of an old man wearing some kind of stuffy mask.

The little witch walked, listening to the voice.

"-She always goes back to the same place, day after day. Just staring like it was yesterday." The voice went on. "Despite the fact that it causes her tremendous anxiety, she insists on returning. Insisting that it's for 'Therapeutic' reasons, but I remain skeptical."

Akko strolled on, listening carefully. What was this guy talking about?

"She doesn't respond well to questions about her personal life. She becomes significantly agitated when mentioning events prior to what she refers to as 'The Black Day'." That made Akko pause.

The Black Day? That sounded ominous. Geez it's all sunshine and rainbows with this girl. She sounds difficult to handle, whoever she is.

But The Black Day? What a particularly unsettling description. 'I wonder what it could mean? Wait. Why am I trying to figure this out? This is all nonsense to me.'

The voice droned on with his analysis of the apparent problem child. "Her school and social life are off limits for discussion when assessing her feelings and anxiety. Any attempts are met with frustration and agitation as mentioned earlier."

Akko narrowed her eyes. Problem child.

"She mentioned the other day about how she has been seeing 'hallucinations', but couldn't go into detail about what those hallucinations were."

That sentence struck a chord within Akko. Hallucinations?

A memory of seeing her bloody bony stump reappeared in her mind. The writing on the walls, the candles on the ground, and the eerie singing voice.

She shook her head, expelling the memory. Akko walked on, curious to see where this corridor lead to and maybe see who else was down here.

"Naturally, I brushed them off. I can't rule out the possibility of it all being a ploy to receive more medication. The pills themselves won't make her feel better. I saw no evidence to suggest her case was valid, but I upped her prescription anyway."

The little witch approached a door nearing the end of the dark empty corridor, the sound of the voice was coming from the other side. Her fingers gripped the doorknob in anticipation, ready to see the person the voice belonged to.

"She claims the extra medication helps." The voice seemed to conclude on the other side.

The brunette pushed the door open.

Nothing.

There was no one here. Just an office looking room with single desks and folders lying around. She felt her hopes get dashed, her arms drooping to her sides. She was really hoping to meet someone to show her the way back to Luna Nova…

Her downcast eyes caught something glinting in the desk. She picked it up. Another text log? No, a text log was a flat square. This looked like a rectangle. 'I wonder what it does?' Her fingers pressed the button and the man's voice from earlier played, recounting the details of what Akko just heard back in the corridor.

So instead of showing text, these rectangle ones play audio? Okay. She tucked it in her uniform. She was going to review all these later. Knowledge is power after all. That's what she always says after two minutes of studying.

Akko left the room, not finding anything else of note. She stumbled into a large room with numerous lockable closets.

"I wonder if anyone left anything in their lockers here?" Maybe she'll find something interesting and worthwhile. Like a candy bar or something.

/ - /

Things were starting to look familiar. Relatively, at least. Akko sauntered further, holding a huge map in front of her.

"hmm, according to this handy dandy map, I should be home free if I juuust—" She swiveled the map like a steering wheel, comparing the map with her surroundings. "Keep going right."

She just found her new map and man oh man, it is saving her life right now. She made more progress in her Homeward Bound in the last thirty minutes than she did the last two hours or so.

She would think the advanced map professor Ursula gave her would help. She would think. Her map showed Akko where she was alright, showed her walking in a dark empty void. Yeah, it was basically useless.

That's why she was lugging around a jumbo sized map. The thing that tiny cube was made to replace. Whatever, as long as it works.

After sauntering around for a few more minutes, she comes across another familiar sight. A chained up door with yellow tape.

Akko nearly jumped out of her skin as the door got kicked open, revealing metal gauntlets poking out of the darkness, grasping what was left of the door frame. Her armored tormentor emerging from the darkness, walking menacingly to face her.

Hey eyes caught the edged stiletto dagger hanging at it's side. Apparently it found a new weapon, another blade that looked just as sharp and equally deadly as the last. The razor edges looked sharp enough to cleave through bone as it glistened, ready to cut into her.

'Just how badly does this thing want to kill me?' It was relentless in it's pursuit and very persistent. Her wounds ached just looking at it, her body reminding her all the damage she received trying to take it on.

Both of them stood, facing each other off.

Akko made the first move, igniting a spell on her legs.

The armored menace leaped at her, the tip of its blade trained on her heart.

The attack met nothing but air as Akko kicked her legs and propelled herself backwards, doing a one eighty and speeding off. Her tormentor hot on her trail.

Akko was surprised how fast her legs were taking her. She actually had to use magic to enhance the strength of her legs a bit more. She was just glad she hadn't received any injuries on her legs yet. Because of how hard she was pushing them, it wouldn't surprise her if some ligament or tendons would get torn if she did.

The brunette leaped in the air, kicking through a door so as to not lose momentum. With how erratic she was pumping her arms, it was hard to keep her wand still. 'I can barely see in front of me—whao!'

Water spilled as she splashed into the deep end of some kind of pool. 'No, we're not doing this again.' Akko instinctively kept a firm grip on her wand this time, learning from her previous mistake. She transformed into a shark once more, swimming to the other end.

Popping back into her original form, she pulled herself out of the water. The little witch prepared to flee once more as she heard the splashing sound of her pursuer falling into the water behind her.

It wasn't resurfacing.

"Oh yeah. Suits of armor don't have any buoyancy, huh?" Unlike a human body, a hunk of metal would just sink straight to the bottom. So that means it would have to wade all the way from the bottom of the deep end over to where she was.

She could see the water shifting indicating where it was.

The little witch trained her wand on the water, dipping the tip into it. It was time to put an end to this. She uttered a single word that would entrap her tormentor in the water indefinitely.

'Freeze.'

She watched with cold eyes as she changed the temperature of the water, making it cooler and cooler by the second. She wasn't able to freeze it over immediately, but at her level, it would all be frozen in a matter of seconds.

That would be enough.

The water closest to her began to frost, eventually forming a thin sheet of ice which grew thicker and thicker. The white sheet expanded until it encompassed the entire water surface.

She didn't relent. Opting to freeze the entire pool until it was a giant block of ice. She would only be satisfied if it was frozen enough to make an ice sculpture out of it. When she was done, an entire herd of elephants would be able to have a dance party over it and it wouldn't break.

The water was completely white now, taking on the appearance of an ice skating rink. She knows she wasn't done though. The larger the amount of water there is, the longer it takes to freeze. The bottom half of this pool would still be liquid.

A part of her would be worried, but there was no way that hunk of metal could even move. The metal would be frozen still just like the water around it.

And besides, she gave the surface a hard knock. It would have to bust through this hard layer of ice first. Hah, good luck with that.

All in all, the tables have been turned. The odds are stacked against it now—

Several chunks of ice shot through the air, shooting towards her face. A gloved gauntlet burst through the ice, grabbing her wrists. She winced at the icy cold grip on her skin. It held her in place as loud thumps rumbled from within the ice before another icy fist broke through. The rest of it's body climbed out, completely white and frosted over.

It was a scene straight out of a nightmare.

"No. No way. How could you..? You should have frozen by now!" Panic overtook her senses as she shrieked, struggling against it's steel grip.

Her assailant only raised her up by the wrist. She yelped in pain as she felt the bones shift under the incredible pressure.

Her fingers pried open in an effort to alleviate the pain. The knight grabbed her wand, dropping her to the ground. She landed on her ass, cradling her sore hand.

Akko's heart dropped as it threw her wand aside, it tumbled in a corner somewhere but still illuminating light. Her hopes were dashed.

It just became that much more hopeless. She was bruised, battered, and bleeding. She had no weapon, and now she didn't even have magic.

She was a terrible witch _with_ her wand, but now she wasn't even that. Now she was just a regular helpless girl who only dreamed big.

Big dreams. That was all she had.

An ambitious, _idiotic_ girl that is now facing cold hard reality.

"Gak—!" A swift kick landed on her face, leaving a cold imprint behind. Her head swam as the world spun around her. Her head wobbled, trying to figure out where gravity was going. The little witch laid sprawled on her back in attempt to stop the uncontrollable spinning.

A hand grabbed her by the forehead and viciously slammed her head on the ground.

" _ **AAAAAAAAGGHHHH!"**_ An agonized scream tore through her throat. White hot pain shot from her skull as the wound on the back of her head burst open, having been brutally reopened. Fresh warm blood overflowing the makeshift bandage and soaking her hair.

The little witch screamed and moaned in pain as she writhed on the ground, frantically clutching the back of her head in a desperate attempt to relieve the scorching burns. Her scalp felt so delicate, so tender, just brushing her fingers against the wound caused an unbelievable amount of pain. Regardless, the brunette bravely tried to put pressure on the newly opened wound to fight the rolling headache forming, as well as keeping more blood from freely flowing out.

Warm tears flowed down her cheeks. It hurts. It hurts. So. _Bad!_

Her assailant grabbed her by the arm, lifting her body in the air and slamming her down on the ground.

A groan escaped in between her teeth as she landed on her side. Her shoulder and ribs creaked dangerously under the impact.

The little witch rolled on to her stomach, using one arm to push herself forwards due to the throbbing in her damaged shoulder. She sobbed, too tired and under too much pain to properly form decent sentences. "Please...stop.."

She made to crawl away, to reach the light her wand was giving off.

Another hand gripped her ankle, raising her high in the air and slamming her face down on the ground once more.

"uugh.." Something in her chest finally snapped under the abuse. She simply groaned in pain, her lungs and throat already too spent.

Akko shakily brought her arms forward once more, using it to push herself forwards at a snails pace now. She felt it touch something. A wooden handle. Her fingers traced along it's length, feeling something really hard and really heavy attached to the end.

A small flicker burned in her eyes as her hand greedily gripped the handle. It was concealed in the shadows thanks to the limited light. A small glimmer of hope shined through the veil of pain.

This. This might work.

She noticed the suit of armor was moving much slower than it had been before. It was struggling to make movements. Though, it's strength was unaffected.

Being almost frozen solid must be taking it's toll. It's semi frozen state was making it's body difficult to move. She could see several ice shards covering it, supporting her speculation. While she failed to freeze it solid, it did make it's body resistant to motion due to almost being frozen stiff.

And all that frost covering it meant another thing. That suit of armor was more fragile than ever before.

All that ice forming on it meant it must have went through "Brittle to Ductile transition". When steel becomes cold enough that it would snap into pieces when hit instead of simply bending out of shape. Just like how frozen fingers or toes would snap completely off the body if it's cold enough.

Akko knew what she had to do.

The suit of armor approached her, pulling out the stiletto dagger draped to it's side. She laid motionless, staring at it from the corner of her vision. 'Closer, closer..'

It bought her ruse of laying helpless. It reached down, hand outstretched to pick her up.

'NOW!'

Her body sprung into action, shooting to her knees, swinging her heavy weapon and fiercely bashing the face of her newly found sledgehammer into it's weakened chest.

The chest plate shattered, sending bits and pieces flying off, exposing it's gaping chest cavity to reveal a glowing rune in the shape of the Luna Nova insignia. That was it. It's weakness. That rune was the medium the spell was using to power the armored vessel.

If she destroys it, then she destroys this thing for good.

Her opponent staggered. Akko stormed to her feet, bringing her sledgehammer up for a follow up strike, intending to smash the rune into little pieces.

It raised it's dagger up, trying to defend itself against the force of her blow.

The dagger spun in the air. The hand clutching it crushed under her weapon, as well as the rest of it's arm along with it. It's arm was gone. Anything passed it's elbow was crushed and destroyed under her fury.

Her opponent grabbed the stiletto out of the air with it's remaining arm and held it in an ice pick grip. The dagger came down, aiming right for her forehead.

She gasped. Her sledgehammer was too heavy to use as a shield in time.

Blood spewed in the air.

Akko screamed in pure anguish as the dagger impaled itself into her hand. She stared in horror at the blood stained steel dangerously pointing mere inches from her face.

A wave of pain rolled as she felt the blade move and shift between her bones as the knight made to pull it out for another attack.

'As if I'm going to let that happen!' Akko grit her teeth and shakily raised her hamer in the air, adjusting her grip to hold it closer to the neck to lift it easier.

The sledgehammer came down at the outstretched arm, intent on crushing it's elbow right on the joint to sever off the only arm it had left.

The knight let go of the dagger, jumping back, disengaging in order to escape certain dismemberment. It's movements now slow and clunky due to the lingering freezing effects.

"You're not getting away!" Akko ditched the sledgehammer, throwing it on the ground and leaped after her prey, Red hot fiery rage burning in her Blood red eyes.

The vengeful witch grasped the handle of the stiletto still embedded in her palm, roaring in absolute fury as she brutally yanked it off in one quick motion. The dagger was in her hands now. And she knows _exactly_ where the blade was going to go.

An outstretched hand pushed her face back in a desperate and futile attempt to stop her unstoppable wrath.

Time seemed to slow as they both wrestled in the air. Her quarry trying to push her back with it's last arm, and her pushing against it with her dagger pointing directly at the glowing rune.

"Raaargh!" Akko drove the dagger right into the seal. The blade went right through the metal, piercing it all the way.

The red glow vanished, fading away into non existence as the magic got cut off. The suit of armor fell, dropping limply to the ground like the inanimate object it once was now that the spell giving it life disappeared.

Akko remained on her feet, panting heavily. Blood and sweat soaking every inch of her being.

The dagger fell to the ground as she dropped to her knees, pain and exhaustion overcoming her now that the danger and excitement passed and the adrenaline started wearing off. Everything hurt. Something rose up her throat, but there was nothing in her stomach to expel. Clear liquid spilled uncontrollably out her mouth as she retched. Her stomach convulsed, forcing even more clear liquid out.

The little witch stayed on her hands and knees as she dry heaved, drool dangling from her lips, waiting for the next convulsion.

None came.

Her body tilted and fell to the side. Her vision was blurring. She was tired. So, so tired. She couldn't fight the fatigue anymore.

Akko weakly closed her eyes, and let darkness consume her.

 **Note:**

 **Ehehehe. um. Fancy seeing you guys here?**

 **Okay, okay. I know. I suck. I haven't updated in such a long time, completely going against what I said.**

 **I won't make excuses though. Its all entirely my fault, and my incompetence. I'm not a good writer, and certainly not good enough to uphold update schedules. Because as much as I would love to, I just can't pump out words and chapters like solving math problems. I would have to be in a career centering around writing to have that happen to me, like writing magazines or something.**

 **I've seen other writers do that though, the ones that can just pump out thousands of words like it was as easy as tying their shoelaces. I have no idea how they do it.**

 **But I actually did have a hard time writing this chapter out. If you've read it already I'm sure you can tell why. This was the first time I've ever written action scenes. And there was. So. Much. Freaking. Action. This whole chapter was nothing _but_ action. I essentially had to write an entire chapter of something I've never written before. Hopefully I didn't mess it up too bad.**

 **So naturally, there was a lot of experimenting and really really _really_ heavy thinking about how I was going to write this chapter out.**

 **And really, I really shouldn't have expected anything else. I cast Constanze aside last chapter for this very purpose after all, to have Akko venture by herself and go through trials by her lonesome.**

 **So yeah, I had nothing to write but action as Akko explored and went through tribulations. I somehow wrote an entire 20k word chapter of just that premise alone. Yes, 20k words. Its crazy. Its become my newest longest chapter. Just to put in to perspective, my first chapter was 4.5k words. Yeah…**

 **and btw, the reason why I had much more consistent updates back when I wrote the first few chapters was because I was a lot less ambitious. I was keeping my word count at a comfortable 4.5k range. Writing 4-5k chapters is significantly easier than 7k let me tell you. The last few chapters I had were all 7k words at least and that's why they were all later than usual.**

 **Now that I'm writing around 8k-10k words per chapter its taking me longer to write them out. So I'm going to have to go right out and say that whatever I said about my update schedule is scrapped. I have no idea what it's going to be. I would rather not make promises at all than make promises and not keep them. So yeah, sorry but that's how it has to be. My writing is not consistent, at all.**

 **Now that I got that out of the way let me respond to the reviews last chapter.**

 **Bobisfromthefuture, yes. Yes I did absolutely have to. I never thought anyone was _ever_ going to realize that star wars reference. I inserted it there just for fun and didn't think anyone would actually notice it lol. And yes, it indeed is a reference to dark souls. I was writing the 2nd chapter and decided to have a little fun. Again, I didn't think anyone was going to get it. Thanks for the flattering words, but in regards to the errors I have to disagree. there's a lot of errors, I'm betting most of them are comma splices and not necessarily just misspelling or wrong tense usage.**

 **Queen Sydon thank you, It makes me glad someone liked the interactions I forced Akko and Constanze on. I admit, I kind of had a good time thinking up ways to make them get along.**

 **Guest yes it will be Diakko, make no mistake I was planning on making this Diakko since the very beginning. I just haven't gotten there yet in the story. Since this is my first story I wanted it to be the pairing that I like the most, so thats why. I could try something new in my other stories though, I have some ideas running around that I might implement if I ever decide to write them. And is it a coming of age type story? Uuh, I guess but not necessarily. Her age really has nothing to do with me wanting her to develop. She could be a 10 year old or a 20 year old, and I would still make her go through situations in which she would have to adapt or change something about herself in order to get through.**

 **Fortissimo Thank you, it's always nice to hear someone appreciate what you made.**

 **Lucia I'm so sorry. I couldn't even do that. I mean, I'm doing it _now_ , but it's too late. Again, really sorry.**

 **PorSupuest0 did you…pick out my Agent Washington reference? If you did, that is amazing. That reference was so subtle that I didn't really consider it a reference and just wrote it there knowing that no one was going to pick it up. And sorry this chapter took double the amount of time.**

 **Psykoakuma lol to be honest I'm surprised you're still reading this. You can keep reading of course, but you don't have to force yourself. And thanks for giving my story a chance.**

 **Well I have all that wrapped up. I really don't know what else to say. What else can I say? I feel like I'm forgetting something really important that I should talk about but for the life of me I can't remember it. Oh well, I won't force myself. If I remember it after a few hours I'll just edit this chapter to add it in there.**

 **Anyways, see ya.**


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